Personal Victory

No personal angst

WHILE the controversy generated by Beni Prasad Verma’s uncharitable remarks against Mulayam Singh Yadav got overshadowed by DMK’s pullout from the UPA on Tuesday,it has emerged that Verma’s outburst was prompted more by personal angst than anything else. The trigger was the recent withdrawal of security for Verma by the SP government in Uttar Pradesh,led by Mulayam’s son Akhilesh Yadav. Verma has enjoyed the security in UP for over two decades. The crisis in the UPA that resulted out of Verma’s remarks against Mulayam was finally managed by the intervention of Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Ahmed Patel. Shinde included Verma in the list of people to be granted security by the Home Ministry. But Verma still refused to apologise to Mulayam. As a compromise,though,he agreed not to contradict whatever statement is prepared by the three mediators.

NEW PRIORITIES

WHEN P Chidambaram was at the helm in the Home Ministry,officers used to provide him with detailed backgrounders and notes for the written questions asked in Parliament. Chidambaram used to diligently go through them. With Sushil Kumar Shinde,the priorities have changed a bit. Though officers still send backgrounders with the answers to be given,Shinde is said to be not very interested in them. What he looks for very keenly is a short profile of the MP who has asked the question. Officers have been asked to attach a note on the MP concerned. Depending on the MP,Shinde sometimes alters the response or decides how much information is to be given.

TAILPIECE

TWEETS are slowly becoming a matter of official record. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar recently wrote a letter to the Prime Minister pressing for the grant of special status to his state. And he specifically mentioned the PMO’s tweets ahead of the National Development Council meet praising Bihar’s growth rate.