Opinion Course of true love

False security blanket

LALIT Modi’s cockiness in the face of adversity probably stemmed from the belief that it was difficult to dislodge him as IPL Commissioner and BCCI vice-president. The rules stipulate that BCCI members have a five-year term and can be removed only by a resolution passed by three-fourth of the members. But there is a simpler route to remove Modi. Rule 32 of the BCCI constitution,read with 38,authorises the president of the board to take action against any member and remove him from his posts as part of disciplinary proceedings.

Sharad Pawar may have installed Shashank Manohar,an old family friend,as BCCI president but he is his own man. Manohar,in fact,has a refreshingly different lifestyle from most of the high-flyers connected with IPL. He lives in faraway Nagpur,does not own a cellphone and till fairly recently did not even bother to apply for a passport.

Vibrant Gujarat

Earlier this month,the three Gujarati businessmen who are the main shareholders in the Kochi franchise met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to explore the possibility of relocating the team to Ahmedabad. The Gujarat leaders agreed to let them use the Ahmedabad stadium and even discussed a possible name for the team,Gujarat Lions. The problem in making the switch,which makes immense financial sense,was that BCCI clearance had to be obtained. Also,mentor Shashi Tharoor had used Kerala as the excuse for getting involved in the deal. Incidentally,even the one per cent holding by a Keralite in the franchise turns out to have a Gujarat connection. Vivek Venugopal,the building contractor from Kerala,is a relative of Narendra Modi’s principal secretary.

More than meets eye

Shashi Tharoor’s fallout with Lalit Modi was not just over the Kochi franchise. Modi was annoyed because Tharoor didn’t help him by denying a visa to South African model Gabriella Demetriades. At a dinner party thrown by a senior business executive in Delhi,Modi mocked Tharoor’s OSD Jacob Joseph for allowing the South Block bureaucracy to dictate terms to the minister. Jacob took offence and a slanging match ensued.

Why blame the college

Comparisons are made between Shashi Tharoor and Natwar Singh. Both were foreign ministers—though one was a junior minister and the other a senior one—who had to resign under ignominious circumstances and both were brilliant students at Delhi’s prestigious St Stephen’s College. “Why bring in the college’s name?” wonders Minister for Commerce Salman Khursheed,also a Stephanian. He points out that the present Parliament has 18 MPs from St Stephen’s. Apart form himself,there are four ministers—Vir Bhadra Singh,Kapil Sibal,Sachin Pilot and R P N Singh—from the college. Khursheed reckons that language occasionally gets Stephanians into trouble. Products of the college take pride in their ability to play with words,a trait not always appreciated in our political circles,where definitions are taken very literally.

Perennially late

BJP President Nitin Gadkari was cautioned against holding a rally in Delhi against prices because of the heat wave. Gadkari ended up as a victim of the weather and fainted. He,nevertheless,gamely maintains that the rally served its purpose,which was to revitalise the cadres. He blamed his collapse on sleeping late the night before. BJP organisers have a problem with Gadkari’s sleep cycle. He sleeps late and rises late and has earned a reputation for showing up late at functions. Gadkari’s interaction with the Editors Guild in Delhi last fortnight had to be cancelled as he was running an hour-and-a-half late and the guild members were not prepared to wait that long.