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Journalism of Courage
All dressed up and nowhere to go. That seems to be the case with former prime minister and JDS leader H D Deve Gowda who has been camping in Delhi along with son H D Kumaraswamy trying to goad a reluctant Congress high command to impose Presidents Rule in Karnataka. They even offered to mobilise the requisite numerical support in the Rajya Sabha by roping in Left parties and the RLD of Ajit Singh if that was the hurdle before the Congress. With their mission proving a non-starter,the JDS duo abruptly put a halt to their hectic activity and headed home.
Prosecution Complex
Nervous Ministers
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares for a Cabinet makeover,there is visible nervouseness among Maharashtra and Karnataka ministers. While four ministers in the Union Council of Ministers have not made any impact on the Congress partys fortune in the state,many heavyweight ministers from Maharashtra,who are not particularly known for their performance,are spending sleepless nights. With Assembly elections barely a year away,ministers from Uttar Pradesh are,however,hoping to get better portfolios,which could have more of mass connect,as one of them put it. Similarly,Andhra Pradesh MPs,especially from Telangana region,are hoping to get more ministerial berths in the states share,thanks to Jaganmohan Reddys juggernaut that the ruling party has failed to stop so far.
Positive Protests
The Secretary and Director General of National AIDS Control Organisation NACO Sayan Chatterjee was in for a shock recently when about a dozen HIV-positive people staged a sit-in at the entrance of his office alleging unavailability of crucial anti-retroviral drugs at various centres in Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and some other states. Meanwhile,other NACO officials housed elsewhere in the same building feigned ignorance about the protest and the issue. One gets to hear that the protestors laid siege to the DGs office for two days and called off their stir only after NACO ensured that the centres received the drugs.
Tailpiece
A junior Congress ministers comment to media managers on DMKs T R Baalu being seated next to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the dais at the UPAs anniversary dinner function on Sunday: This is a bad decision. It will be a bad photo-op for the government.
