Muted celebrations

Off Track

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedis remarks at the Idea Exchange programme of The Indian Express on the possibility of mid-term polls did not cause much anxiety in the Congress,especially since the minister himself clarified that the comments had been made in his individual capacity. But what kept the Congress totally relaxed was the assessment that Trivedi did not seem to have the sanction of his party chief Mamata Banerjee. The Congress leadership is learnt to have made discreet inquiries to reassure itself that Trivedi was not speaking for Mamata in this instance. It was apparently told that any such big announcement would come directly from Didi herself and not from her lieutenants.

Cotton Crisis

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had made his displeasure known over the decision to ban cotton exports and spoken to the Prime Minister on the issue before leaving for Maharashtra on Wednesday. With important party matters to attend,the NCP leader was scheduled to return to Delhi only on the eve of the Parliament session beginning on Monday. But,partly because of objections raised by Pawar,the Prime Minister directed a review of the ban by a Group of Ministers. That forced Pawar to leave his party matters and rush to Delhi to attend the GoM meeting on Friday.

Date Adjust

While the SP leadership has made up its mind to appoint Akhilesh Yadav as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,it remains uncertain about the date of his coronation. March 12 is ruled out because of the Presidents address to the joint sitting of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget session. Most of the senior leaders from other parties would be unable to attend the ceremony on Lucknow on that day. The next day,March 13,is being considered inauspicious,while March 14 happens not just to be the day of Railway Budget in Parliament but also the date on which the Punjab chief minister is slated to take the oath of office. So the first possible date that the Samajwadi Party is considering for swearing in Akhilesh as the chief minister is March 15.

Cutting Remark

At a function organised by the Sir Syed Foundation of old boys from Aligarh Muslim University on Friday,Rajya Sabha MP and well-known poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar,who happens to be an alumnus,ran into Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi. He congratulated the CEC on the successful completion of UP elections with a comment that left him not just flattered but also stumped. Aapne kitne thakuron ke haath kaat diye, he said,obviously drawing a reference from his landmark film Sholay.