Wings further clipped

Manmohan Singh has been dubbed 8216;8216;only half a PM8217;8217; by his detractors who claim that he is often kept out of the loop when...

Manmohan Singh has been dubbed 8216;8216;only half a PM8217;8217; by his detractors who claim that he is often kept out of the loop when key governmental decisions are made. The PM, for instance, had no clue that the additional solicitor general was being sent to London to facilitate the defreezing of Quattrocchi8217;s Bofors account. At his recent press conference, he assured the media there was no shortage of wheat. The next day Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar announced that the government planned to import 500,000 tonnes of wheat.

Here is yet another example of the erosion of the PM8217;s powers. It has always been the PM8217;s prerogative to decide on the postings of senior bureaucrats of the level of additional secretary and above. But last year after some ministers rejected the names of secretaries allotted to their ministries by the Cabinet Secretariat, the procedure was changed. Now secretaries are posted only after securing the prior approval of the minister concerned.

Manmohan8217;s full house

With the recent infusion of ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reached the upper limit of his ministerial strength. According to a rule introduced by the NDA government, the Cabinet size cannot be more than 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha. Since there are at present 541 MPs in the Lower House, and 80 ministers including the Prime Minister, it is practically a full house. The arithmetic permits just one more ministerial slot, which presumably will be filled eventually by a Minister for External Affairs.

Seasoned politicians feel that filling up all the ministerial vacancies is tactically a bad move since it means you cannot dangle carrots before the malcontents in your own party or the UPA allies. The recent Cabinet expansion overlooked the UPA allies completely Shibu Soren simply got back his old portfolio and all the slots have been filled by Congresspersons. Some suspect that the Congress is rewarding its own loyalists so blatantly as it is no longer bothered about the demands of the UPA partners. The party8217;s game plan could be to go back to the electorate in the near future and ask for a clear mandate to rule on its own.

No room for interpretation

When Jacques Chirac visited India some three decades back as prime minister of France, he was accompanied by his personal interpreter Prof Andronikov, who had once worked for the legendary Charles de Gaulle. On the Indian side Andronikov8217;s former student at the Sorbonne Anuradha Kunte acted as interpreter. Indira Gandhi, who was then PM and fluent in French, was unhappy with the generally poor standard of French interpretation in India. Thanks to her initiative and with assistance from Chirac a special course in simultaneous translation in French was opened at Jawaharlal Nehru University8217;s JNU fledgling School of Languages.

But times have changed. When Kunte, who in the past has translated for Mitterand and Giscard D8217;Estaing as well, inquired about the arrangements for interpreters during President Chirac8217;s visit later this month she was told that interpreters would not be required since Chirac speaks English perfectly. In fact, six years back when Chirac visited India, though he was accompanied by an official interpreter from France, he chose to speak in English. Obviously, French, which was the link language of Europe in the days of the Crusades, has finally conceded first place to English in the battle over language. With most visiting statesmen fluent in English, the days of simultaneous interpretation seem numbered. The Language School at JNU now concentrates on studying the literature and culture of a country rather than mere translation.

8216;Maharaja8217; weaves spell

Richard Holkar and his wife Sally of the Holkar dynasty of Indore revived the Maheshwari sari in their home district. Now Jyotiraditya Scindia, descendant of another Peshwa dynasty, has equally ambitious plans for popularising the Chanderi. The handloom town of Chanderi falls within Scindia8217;s Guna parliamentary constituency. The finely woven, usually transparent, material is no longer utilised just for making saris but for a wide range of products, from kurtas to curtains and bedspreads.

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Minister for Textiles Shankersinh Vaghela has ordered the ministry to extend all possible assistance to the 8216;8216;Maharaja8217;8217;, as he reverentially calls Scindia. His ministry is shelling out Rs 6 crore for the development of Chanderi, which includes a sum earmarked for improvement of the town8217;s roads and lighting, which is not the responsibility of the Textile Ministry. Although the facilitation and implementation of the Chanderi project will be in the hands of the BJP state government, it was noticeable that no elected representative from the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government was invited to the project8217;s inauguration.

Unconventional adventurism

If you read between the lines, the editorial of the latest issue of Organiser, regarded as a mouthpiece of the RSS, carries a clear snub to L K Advani. The Lok Dal of Haryana and the AGP of Assam have been described as the BJP8217;s 8216;8216;natural allies8217;8217; and it is suggested that the two parties be brought back to the NDA fold. It was Advani who prior to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections insisted on breaking ties with Om Prakash Chautala8217;s Lok Dal and with the AGP, even though Vajpayee had made a strong pitch to retain Chautala in the alliance.

The editorial may also embarrass Amar Singh. Already Raj Babbar has attacked Singh for his proximity to the BJP. The editorial urges the BJP to indulge in some 8216;8216;unconventional adventurism8217;8217; and points out that the Samajwadi Party in UP is in frantic search of new alliances.