When in China8230;

What is more they did not offer any alternative dates to Narayanan for the meeting.

The NSA chief is at a disadvantage as a negotiator with the Chinese since he is hardliner presiding over the nation8217;s vast intelligence network. After all, it8217;s our security agencies that have recommended that FDI from China should not be permitted in key infrastructure sectors in India, which is a major cause for the Chinese government8217;s annoyance with India.

The fact that the new Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, who was formerly our ambassador to China, is an expert on China and speaks Mandarin fluently renders Narayan redundant in any case.

Naming business

The foundation stone for a new headquarters of the Foreign Office was laid by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier this week. The new building, located on Janpath, is to be named after Jawaharlal Nehru, creating some confusion since there is already a Jawahar Bhawan on the same road where the Cottage Emporium is housed.

In fact in this 2 km stretch of premium New Delhi, there are several other landmarks named in honour of the country8217;s unofficial first family.

There is Rajiv Gandhi Chowk which was once the inner circle of Connaught Circus and Indira Gandhi Chowk, which was the outer circle, there is the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, which houses the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Nehru Memorial Library just a short distance away.

Of course, if you move outside this small stretch you will stumble across many more institutions named after the dynasty 8212; from the Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi Open Universities to the domestic and international airports.

Jostling for place

There is a degree of rivalry between the two prominent Muslims in the BJP, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shanawaz Hussain. In a party with a clear-cut Hindutva agenda there is place for only one token minority in a prominent position. Naqvi had a head start since he was the first to win a Lok Sabha seat, was once a minister of state at the center, and later appointed party spokesperson and general- secretary.

But Hussain, who entered the party as Uma Bharati8217;s protege, and is only a party secretary, is catching up fast. His recent victory from Bhagalpur is one more feather in his cap. With Rajnath Singh likely to bring in a new team of office-bearers after he gets re-appointed party president, both men are jostling for an important position in the party. Naqvi, a former acolyte of Venkiah Naidu, is keen to play down his links with his former mentor just as Hussain is trying to shrug off the Bharati tag.

Double-edged

Some questioned the propriety of Ram Jethmalani accepting Manu Sharma8217;s brief in the Jessica Lal murder case since he was once asked for legal advice by the victim8217;s sister Sabrina.

Actually, this is not the first time Jethmalani has shifted from one side to another in a controversial case. In the Bofors case, he assisted the prosecution by coming to the aid of interveners in both, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. At a later stage, Jethmalani appeared as the defence counsel for the accused Hinduja bothers. In the hawala case, he drafted the PIL for the petitioners, Vineet Narayan and Rajinder Puri, demanding that all those named in Jain8217;s diaries be prosecuted.

Subsequently, he defended L K Advani, one of the accused named in the diary. The Akali Dal consulted Jethamalani in the cases against the Badal family for corruption and disproportionate assets. Subsequently, Jethmalani accepted a brief on behalf of the Punjab Government. He withdrew only after protests from the Akalis.

Not quite cricket

For over a year now there has been a ban on members of the Indian cricket team writing on the sport for publications or giving commentaries on television. However, Chairman of the Selection Committee Dilip Vengasakar is not bound by any such gag order. Vengsakar writes a column on cricket distributed by a sports management agency for publication in newspapers. The agency also handles the commercial sponsorships of several players. Incidentally, Vengsarkar8217;s column is sponsored by the very company which bought the rights from BCCI for telecasting cricket matches in India.

Defensive cover

Defence Minister A K Antony8217;s failure to show up for the international conference on defence, finance and economics last week caused comment. Actually, Antony had specifically asked former minister Pranab Mukherjee to officiate at the inaugural ceremony, saying he would deliver his address on the last day. Ever since he has taken up his new job, Antony has been keeping a low profile and spends most of his time interacting only with senior defence officials.

He wants to spend the next two months picking up the basics of his job and reading files. Antony has yet to give a formal interview to the media. And even his exchanges with the Malayalam press have been restricted mainly to local issues in Kerala.

The defence minister is more of a listener than a talker and shies away from the limelight, but such is the nature of his new post that he cannot stay in the background forever.