What makes Lalu keep mum

If Cabinet biggies thought they had finally come around tenacious colleagues like Arjun Singh and A R Antulay, their misery is not over. The new entrant, Defence Minister A K Antony, is proving to be more dogged. St Antony is increasingly becoming the new voice of the Left in Cabinet meetings. It is now well known he had raised the red flag by opposing public-private partnership on the Halwara Airport, despite the PM8217;s nod to get it moving before the Punjab polls. Apparently, the signs were there at previous Cabinet meetings too when, for instance, he defended the AAI, during a discussion on whether a Land Port Authority should be set up or not. Antony8217;s argument: A monolith body like this would end up having a negative impact on the AAI. He also said his experience with AAI was a positive one, there is nothing wrong with a PSU that has registered profits all along, he reasoned. We thought this was a slogan patented by the Left, when they opposed the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Yeh nuke deal maange more

Now that the N-deal has crossed all major hurdles, Washington is keen on identifying the next big idea in Indo-US ties so that the momentum is not lost. The menu 8212; high tech cooperation in Defence, to allowing US universities to set up schools here. To set the ball rolling, efforts have begun to get US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to make her first foreign visit in 2007 to India. It would be a positive signal, they say. The logic: In 2005, she stunned US allies in Asia when she chose India as her first destination that year, so what better way to underline the significance of Indo-US ties by choosing New Delhi again. A good beginning perhaps, but it8217;s still in early stages.

Guessing game

Both the NSCNIM leadership and the Centre are involved in a guessing game over each other8217;s plans in the next few days. Muivah has said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited him but an appointment is yet to be finalised. Officials in the Home ministry are also hesitant to speculate on the date for talks. This is so unlike his previous visits in 2003 and 2004-5 when the schedule was decided days in advance. But the Centre is keen to ensure that Muivah is not disappointed given NSCNIM8217;s clout in the hill districts of Manipur and the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state. As for the NSCNIM leadership, they are likely to celebrate Christmas in the high security bungalow near Lodi Gardens where Muivah has been lodged and subsequently go to their headquarters in Nagaland. The date for negotiations is likely to be finalised only after his return from the state.

Don8217;t let them queue up

It would have been the last straw for harried air passengers 8212; to watch their MPs swish through VIP check-in counters while they waited in endless queues. It was an idea mooted at a meeting of the Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation by the Congress MP from Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh. His suggestion: A separate counter for security check on the basis of their ID cards, and a separate check-in counter based on ID cards issued by the airlines. Even the Babus in Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan were stumped and reasoned out saying that even if extra manpower and expensive security gadgets were made available, it could lead to wastage of resources when such a counter remained unused in the event of no VIP turning up.

Wisdom8217;s changing colours

Congress spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi refused to comment on the court verdict that convicted Manu Sharma, son of a senior Congress politician. His plea, 8220;It is not proper to comment on the wisdom of a court of law.8221; Fine, one can say, but just a minute before this statement, he had held forth 8220;welcoming8221; the acquittal of Lalu Prasad Yadav in the disproportionate assets case.

Quick fix, the NHAI way

The National Highway Authority of India, it appears, has finally taken criticism on the slow-down in road construction seriously. At least that8217;s what one can conclude from the information that NHAI has recently put out on its website called the 8220;key personnel debarred list8221;. NHAI has listed 123 people and their organisations for their failure to deliver. While the action is not directed at the organisations or consultancy firms that these individuals belong to, NHAI may now want to also look inwards for names who are responsible for the delays.

Chhota Chaudhry8217;s big designs

The proteacute;geacute; has upstaged the patron, or so it appears. After getting a foothold in western UP due to her proximity to RLD chief Ajit Singh, Lok Sabha member Anuradha Chaudhry is on a personal spree. For instance, she not only held a big public meeting at Victoria Park, Meerut, last Saturday, but also didn8217;t care to invite Singh to the rally though he was scheduled to arrive on the same day. Worse still, she left Meerut before Ajit landed. Her self-appointed title, 8220;Chhota Chaudhry8221;, has disappeared from the full-page advertisements, which she puts out occasionally in newspapers highlighting the achievements of the UP Irrigation Development and Flood Control Commission, which she heads. However, she makes it a point to affix a photograph of the late Charan Singh, along with a quote of his, in these poll-eve ads. The Chaudharani from outside the clan has no intention to hide her designs now.

Tailpiece

Heard at the meeting of Muslim MPs, who had gathered for a discussion on the Sachar Committee report this week, organised by the HRD ministry, presided by Minister Arjun Singh, but where many had failed to turn up 8212; 8220;How can the community8217;s drop-out rates improve when there is such a high drop-out rate amongst their MPs?8221;