Maken line,and party line

Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken,who stirred up a hornets nest last week with his letter to young MPs urging them to oppose a caste-based census,has got quite a few sympathisers in the Congress although the party officially disapproved of his move. A day after he sent the letter,a senior Congress leader called up Maken and advised him to write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi asking her to clarify whether Law Minister M Veerappa Moilys vocal support for a caste census represented the partys line. But Maken apparently does not want to take the matter too far. While he is said to be expecting charge of some states in the organisational reshuffle in the Congress,his dismal show as AICC member in-charge of Jharkhand and Orissa could thwart his ambitions,say his party colleagues.