Vituperation, VHP mode

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad pulled out a lot of rabbits from its hat in its resolution at its Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal, at Hardwar last Sun...

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad pulled out a lot of rabbits from its hat in its resolution at its Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal, at Hardwar last Sunday. Not only did it happily carve J038;K into four parts, it stated it would reject the Ayodhya court verdict if it went against its position: 8216;8216;We have never said we will not listen to the court. However, we will not abide by its verdict if it goes against our dharmashastras.8217;8217;

In other words, it8217;s 8216;heads, I win, tails, you lose8217;. Disingenuous doctrinaires this bunch, aren8217;t they? However, the VHP will now have to extract the written undertaking they given the Kanchi Sankar-acharya in February, stating that it would abide by the court verdict. For the moment, the Sankaracharya is in no mood to part with it.

Father, son and the wily centre

After the Omar Abdullah crowning, both father and son were in New Delhi, to plead their case to be taken a tad more seriously. There was just a hint conveyed that a president of the National Conference cannot be saddled with a junior ministerial portfolio. As for the father, having been so cruelly cheated of his vice-presidential prospects, a formula of accommodating him with honour would be in order, or so the duo felt.

Katiyar-ing edge

By appointing the controversial former Bajrang Dal chief, Vinay Katiyar, as its UP party chief, the BJP revealed its future strategy of going for broke in UP. Katiyar is, in a sense, the Kalyan Singh Model Mark II 8212; a backward caste leader with hardline Hindutva credentials. It was also a way of reminding Mayawati not to take her partner in power for granted. But whether this attempt 8212; to polish the old temple lantern with its friendly electoral genie 8212; will work is another question.

Paper promise

The Cabinet, in a historic decision, allowed 26 per cent foreign direct investment in news and current affairs publications and 74 per cent FDI in non-news, non-current affairs publications. The move is expected to inject fresh life into this sector.

All eyes on Reliance

On Monday, the founder of the Rs. 65,000 crore-Reliance Group, Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, suffered a major stroke 8212; his second in 16 years. However, he continued to maintain a tenuous hold on life as the week passed. Through the week, people kept coming to Mumbai8217;s Breach Candy Hospital for news of his condition.

Yes, Governor

RBI Governor Bimal Jalan got a two-year extension while Rakesh Mohan was appointed as deputy governor of the RBI.