Opinion Common viewpoint

Not overshadowing son

ON A family holiday in Ladakh,J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah did not alter his travel plans and return immediately to Srinagar after trouble erupted in the Valley. Instead of flying directly home,Omar took the lengthy drive back via Kullu Manali. In contrast,Omar’s father and central minister Farooq Abdullah,changed his travel plans instantly in response to the crisis. Farooq,who was on an official visit to the Philippines,was scheduled to return to Kashmir,but instead he flew to London. That way he scotched the strong rumour that the seasoned Farooq would take over the reins of government from his inexperienced son.

Silent spokesperson

Defence Minister A K Antony was hurt by a cabinet colleague’s remark at a press briefing that he is the spokesperson for the cabinet committee on security but “he seldom speaks”. He was mollified only after it was explained that the comment was made in a lighter vein and no slight was intended.

Stealing a march

THE Congress persuaded actor-politician Chiranjeevi to withdraw the Praja Rajyam candidate for the recent Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections so that all four Congress candidates could be elected unopposed. Chiranjeevi feels let down since although he fulfilled his side of the bargain,his demands,some of which concern his film empire,have yet to be met. While Chiranjeevi sulks and the Congress dithers,hoping to get the Praja Rajyam to merge with the Congress,the TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu is quietly engineering a split in the Praja Rajyam. Naidu hopes to poach half of the legislators from under Chiranjeevi’s nose.

Who is in charge?

L.K. ADVANI,who has once again emerged as a major player in the BJP,has of late voiced the view that the BJP party president should not be hamstrung by constant referral of decisions to others. He cites the example of Sonia Gandhi’s unchallenged writ in the Congress. This runs counter to the RSS belief that decision making in the BJP should be a collective responsibility, with no single leader in complete command. In a recent interaction with the BJP’s top brass in Delhi,RSS general secretary Suresh (Bhaiya) Joshi expressed unhappiness with the continuing drift in the party. BJP president Nitin Gadkari—the RSS’s choice for president—has not come up to scratch. The RSS bosses are annoyed on several counts. Although they were informed of Jaswant Singh’s re-induction to the BJP,they did not realise that Singh would not apologise for his views on Jinnah. The decision to nominate Ram Jethmalani to the Rajya Sabha was also taken without consulting them. They are particularly riled with the BJP for backing the proposal for a caste-based Census.

A rupee above babus

A JOINT parliamentary committee on wages has mooted that the salaries of MPs should be pegged at one rupee more than the salary and perks of a full secretary to the government of India. Though there is some ambiguity as to whether it is the secretary’s monthly income of Rs 80,000 or the cabinet secretary’s Rs 90,000 income that is to be the marker. Civil servants joke that they too should now be granted a daily sitting fee less one rupee,which is part of the MPs’ pay packet. At present,an MP’s monetary benefits work out to around Rs 42,000,including Rs 16,000 as salary. It is not at all certain that the committee proposal will be implemented. It has to be cleared first by the Cabinet before it can be placed before Parliament for approval.