ROOM SERVICE

US Secretary of State Hillary Clintons accommodation details are a closely guarded secret during her current visit and the Ministry of External Affairs.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clintons accommodation details are a closely guarded secret during her current visit and the Ministry of External Affairs has obliged the US embassy on their request this time round. The recent Mumbai blasts and the consequent security concerns being raised by American officials have prompted the MEA,which usually makes these details public through a media advisory,to keep it secret. US concerns are not new,as just after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008,a visiting top US dignitary had to be shifted to Roosevelt House,the US ambassadors residence,at the last minute after MEA made the accommodation details public. However,considering the limited options in New Delhi five-star hotels for the visiting dignitaries,its anybodys guess as the toss-up is between two hotels one which serves the Hillary platter and the other which doesnt.

Food for Thought

Food Minister K V Thomas has a surprise in store for his state counterparts,all of whom have been called to Delhi for a meeting on storage of grains. He has roped in UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani to use the forum to explain how the Aadhaar unique identity number will be useful in modernising the public distribution system,which is vital to the implementation of the proposed food security law. Clearly,an otherwise very useful presentation,stands the risk of getting politically coloured thanks to the linkage with the proposed law.

Court Craft

Even as several names of distinguished lawyers are floating around as contenders for the post of Solicitor General of India,the Supreme Court Bar is understandably anxious. However,one of the members appears least anxious. When asked by a lawyer whether the rumours are true that he is also in the race,senior advocate Rohinton Nariman was heard brusquely dismissing the question with a its all a rumour reply before rushing off for his next case on a busy Monday morning.

Saffron Strategy

The BJPs strong attack against Digvijaya Singh is not without reason. The party,one hears,had done an analysis to find out the impact of Singhs saffron terror chant among the Muslims in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. The BJP found out that Singh has touched the Muslim psyche like H N Bahuguna and Mulayam Singh Yadav did in their political prime. And that gives the BJP cause for concern. Singh touching a chord with the Muslim masses is not an issue for the BJP,but the party remembers both Bahugana and Yadav had managed to attract Hindu votes upper castes in case of the former and Yadavs for the latter even while playing the Muslim card. If Singh manages to do the same,it will prove to be costly. While the party fielded its popular Muslim faces Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain to defend the RSS and rubbish the saffron terror theory,it is now said to be working on a strategy to counter Singh.

Tailpiece

The floor leaders of political parties were barely done with a quick click of cameras at their meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar over the Womens Reservation Bill when RLD leader Ajit Singh exclaimed: It has served the purpose. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal immediately cautioned him about the presence of mediapersons,who had been briefly allowed in the conference room for a photo-op. Just goes to illustrate the point that our leaders,even while they seem to be trying to resolve an issue,know that they are only putting up a facade.