Opinion Inside Track: Family property

Amethi’s benefactor

Rahul Gandhi was upset at the CBI for filing an FIR against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla for alleged irregularities in allocation of two coal blocks in Orissa. He made his displeasure known to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who spoke up in defence of Birla. Besides being a well-respected industrialist,Birla also happens to be a benefactor of Rahul’s constituency,Amethi. Earlier this month,Rahul and Birla shared the dais in Jagdishpur,Amethi,at the foundation-laying ceremony of a mega food park. The park is being established by Indo Gulf Fertilisers,part of the Aditya Birla Nuvo group,with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The venture is expected to provide infrastructure for food processing,including cold storage and warehousing. It will not only benefit farmers in the region but also provide employment.

NaMo rap

It’s a rap song that is proving quite a hit on YouTube. Known as the ‘Namo youth anthem’,it goes,“Listen up India,now is the time for change… N and a A and M and a O,Namo Namo PM go”. It has lines like “He was a common man who started just as a tea vendor. Now he’s a conqueror. We call him the last airbender… Who’s going to care us… Namo… Who’s going to dare ’em,who’s going to scare ’em… Who’s got the flair,who’s got the glare,no compare. Choice of India. Voice of India. Namo Namo PM go”.

Dual role

Omita Paul,secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee,combined two roles during his visit to Meghalaya last week. On one hand she was the President’s senior aide,and on the other,she was his official hostess since she is the wife of Meghalaya Governor K K Paul. So the President’s secretary flew ahead of the presidential party to Meghalaya to receive the head of state and make preparations for his visit.

Wait a while longer

It could take a good four to six months before the Bill for a Telangana state is placed before Parliament. In all probability,there will still be a united Andhra when the nation goes for parliamentary polls in April next year. The procedure for forming a separate state is complicated and lengthy. Normally drafting the Bill alone takes around two months. The draft Bill is then placed on the website for a public debate for 30 days. A group of ministers proceeds to discuss the draft legislation before it goes to the Cabinet. The Cabinet,in turn,has to forward the Bill to the president. The president refers it to the governor of the state concerned. The Bill is then placed before the state Assembly and council for its view. Finally,Cabinet approval is required before the Bill is referred to Parliament.

Eye on constituency

When L K Advani appeared on the same dais as Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad recently,he was keen to mend fences with the Gujarat Chief Minister and announced that he would be happy if Modi became PM. Cynics claim that Advani’s change of heart was due to his anxiety to re-contest from the Gandhinagar constituency. Advani knows he cannot stand from Gujarat without Modi’s blessing. A proposal for Advani to shift to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh seems to have been shelved after a sample survey indicated that the high proportion of Muslims in the constituency would work against him. Incidentally,Modi mentioned the importance of the Ahmedabad East constituency at the function. The constituency is represented currently by Harin Pathak but he is out of favour,and many suspect that Modi might decide to stand for the Lok Sabha from here. Although it has also been proposed that Modi should contest from a constituency in Uttar Pradesh to strengthen his pan-India appeal,this would mean the BJP leader would be tied down in his constituency and not free to campaign extensively in the rest of the country.