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Journalism of Courage
As the BJP tries to find out the reasons for the defeat of S S Ahluwalia in the Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand,it emerges that the BJP-JMM government was faced with the choice of saving itself from being toppled or sending Ahluwalia to the Upper House. Two people had to be elected,of which Congress was assured of one. For the second place,Ahluwalia was pitted against a JMM candidate. The Arjun Munda government is dependent on the five-member AJSU for its survival and AJSU wanted to support the JMM candidate. The priority of the ruling establishment was clear pehle sarkar phir Sardar First the government,then Ahluwalia. Apparently,the Opposition,too,had a similar refrain,though obviously with a different priority pehle Sardar phir sarkar which meant lets first send Ahluwalia packing,and then the government.
Head Hunting
Persistence Pays
Nobody is even mentioning her name but that doesnt deter BJP Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptullah from hoping that she may be able to fulfil her life-time wish to become the Vice-President of India,if not the President. For 18 years,I was the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, she has been reminding people in the course of her conversations. Which,when decoded,means that the next logical step would be to make her the chairperson,an ex officio function the Vice-President discharges. Any important player she sees in the Central Hall,Najma invariably walks up to exchange pleasantries. Persistence helps,and Najma knows it,for,she secured a Rajya Sabha nomination from the party when most people in the BJP had written her off.
Saving Face
While Home Minister P Chidambaram has failed to convince some chief ministers on his NCTC proposal,his Cabinet colleague Kapil Sibal is hoping to have better luck with at least one chief minister. Sibal,who met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday to resolve the deadlock over the location of the Central university in Bihar,is learnt to have offered twin campuses for the same one each at Gaya and Motihari. While Nitish wants Motihari as the site,the HRD Ministry has been insisting on Gaya. The Bihar CM is learnt to have welcomed the idea,but there are now differences over where the headquarters of the twin-campus university should be located.
Personal Presence
The UPA leaders who meet in Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansals chamber thrice a week for floor coordination have decided to call ministers to get a briefing on the legislations that their respective ministries are introducing in the Budget session. To start with,Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal were invited. Pawar,incidentally,has been extremely cooperative and had himself started attending these meetings until Bansal told him that he need not come personally and could depute someone else to represent him.
