When hardliners meet

Here's a nugget from the first ever meeting between Indian and Pakistani hardliners this week. Visiting Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam leader Maulana ...

Here8217;s a nugget from the first ever meeting between Indian and Pakistani hardliners this week. Visiting Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman is believed to have bluntly asked VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore how many mosques they8217;re claiming. Three, they told him, not 30,000 although 30,000 temples were destroyed to erect mosques. Only three, the Maulana is understood to have exclaimed in surprise. This was the level of candour as both sides explored each other8217;s views. The Maulana left the Ayodhya issue at that but VHP sources said they got the distinct impression that he was all for negotiations between Hindu and Muslim organisations.

On the other hand, the tone of his talks with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was cautious. PMO aides were disappointed that Rahman did not mention either the Simla Agreement or the Lahore Accord to the PM, although in his interactions with the media, he had tagged them as parameters for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Obviously, the Maulana is too shrewd a politician to be carried away by emotion during an official interaction with recorded minutes.

Winning hearts, the Rudy way

Newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy literally took a back seat at the BJP8217;s National Executive Meet in Raipur last weekend. While his Cabinet colleagues occupied the executive class rows in front, Rudy sat at the rear in the special Indian Airlines flight his ministry had arranged to fly the delegates back to Delhi on Sunday evening. Of course, the air hostesses and flight stewards fussed over him but Rudy ignored all the attention, put on his sun-glasses and went to sleep. He won their hearts, however, when shortly before landing, he woke up and went to the service area of the plane to chat with them. He sat on the seat reserved for the crew and listened to their woes in a very unministerial manner. Perhaps he empathises with them more than his predecessors because of his wife, who was a former stewardess.

The Prasad-Khurana CASe

While cable operators, and television addicts, wait with bated breath for the Government8217;s final word on CAS, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is hard at work to crack his most vociferous opponent, fellow partyman and wannabe Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana. He spent a large part of his time at the BJP8217;s Raipur Meet trying to convince Khurana about the benefits of switching over to CAS. Prasad even roped in Law Minister Arun Jaitley to talk to Khurana in the hope that the Delhi leader would heed his one-time political advisor.

Khurana apparently wasn8217;t impressed by their argument that deferring the decision will hit the consumer harder because cable operators are threatening to hike their charges by a substantial amount. Prasad is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he gives up on CAS, he8217;ll be accused of favouring foreign channel owners who are pressing for DTH instead. If he goes ahead with CAS, he8217;ll be blamed for losing Khurana the Delhi Assembly elections.

How to lose friends

While the Congress was talking alliance politics at its Shimla Shivir, a member of its most loyal partner, RJD MP Prem Gupta, was fuming in Delhi. His political rivals came for his son8217;s wedding but not a single central leader from the Congress showed up.

There were as many as 14 Union Ministers including Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Yashwant Sinha. Samajwadi Party8217;s Mulayam Singh Yadav came despite his bitter falling out with the RJD. And of course, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi were present. But no Congressman or woman was visible, except Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.

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As it happened, Congress leaders were tucked away in Shimla that day for their three-day chintan manthan. But feelings in the RJD are running high. If the President could send an ADC with a bouquet of flowers, surely Sonia Gandhi could spare a couple of representatives for Gupta8217;s big day? Even at the tilak ceremony a few days earlier when the Shimla meet had not begun, the Congress was conspicuous by its absence. Working Committee members Ghulam Nabi Azad and R.K. Dhawan were the sole party leaders to attend the function. So much for winning friends and influencing allies.