Opinion Headless delegation

Hobson’s choice

Abhishek Manu Singhvi hastily resigned as chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice after he heard that the BJP had called on the Vice President and Chairperson of Rajya Sabha,Hamid Ansari,and demanded that the allegedly morphed sex CD be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for checking its authenticity. The BJP’s logic was that the CD needed to be examined because if it was found to be morphed,then it was a matter for the Privileges Committee since someone was trying to blackmail an MP,and if it was genuine,then it needed to be referred to the Ethics Committee. Singhvi opted to resign rather than get the tape examined and a sound lab authenticate the dialogue on the tape.

Dig at CEC

Relations between Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and Law Minister Salman Khurshid are strained. Quraishi had pulled up Khurshid for announcing quotas for Muslim OBCs during the UP election and this had led to tension between the two. At a recent seminar on state funding of elections and electoral reform,both Khurshid and Quraishi were speakers. Khurshid took a veiled dig at the CEC by remarking that in other countries,those in charge of holding elections were faceless,it was only in India that the CEC acquired a larger than life image. Quraishi did not rise to the bait. Khurshid also remarked,tongue- in-cheek,that since the Election Commission was endowed with omnipotent powers to ensure a well-oiled government machinery,perhaps one should have elections throughout the year to ensure good administration.

Early bird,no worm

Abhishek Manu Singhvi insisted on taking his oath as a Rajya Sabha member on April 3,even though other newly elected MPs were sworn in only on April 24 when the House re-convened. In retrospect,some attribute his haste to the fact that he already had an inkling that the CD on him would be made public and blot his copybook. The official explanation is that Singhvi had to take the oath early because he had to convene a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on law,justice,personnel and public grievances. Otherwise his chairpersonship would have lapsed.

Opposite reactions

After disowning his earlier remark that the president should be a non-political person,Sharad Pawar once again set the cat among pigeons by suggesting that the next president should be from the south as the prime minister was from the north. In response to queries about presidential possibilities,Pawar joked that Karnataka was the only southern state which has not sent a representative to Rashtrapati Bhavan and Deve Gowda was ready to offer his services. Pawar may have spoken in jest but the fact that states like West Bengal,Gujarat and Karnataka have not produced a president has become a talking point. Bengal’s case is particularly striking because there has been no prime minister or president from the state. The most qualified candidate from Bengal is Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Ironically,neither the Congress nor the TMC,can openly oppose Mukherjee’s candidature though neither wants him as president. On the other hand,while the Opposition,particularly the BJP,is against a president who is member of the Congress party,they have no objection to Pranab da.

Passport to chaos

The MEA has taken a decision to outsource issuing of passports to a private company. As a first step,TCS is responsible for handling the outer desk for offering guidance at passport offices in five metros. But judging from recent experiences at the Bhikaji Cama Place passport office in Delhi,the public-private partnership has still to smoothen its rough edges. In fact,things have gone from bad to worse. The staff of the MEA,which is to be eventually phased out,still mans the counters and its unhappiness over the presence of the newcomers is apparent. People who want to get tatkaal passports or renew their old passports are given the runaround. They have to make several trips since the recurring excuse is that the computer servers are down. The politeness at the outer desk doesn’t compensate for the shoddy service.