Opinion Law unto himself

Ground reality

To buttress his claim that the Air India pilots’ demand for increased salaries and perks was unreasonable,Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi made the point that pilots after all were merely 12th class without even a college degree. BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy,himself a pilot,jumped to the pilots’ defence,wondering how Ravi’s party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would respond to his disparaging remark about pilots,considering the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was also a pilot with only a school leaving certificate. Ravi was understandably rattled.

Choice of three

On the day that President Obama announced the capture and death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan,three Indian government ministries put out three separate statements on the day’s developments and the consequential impact on Indo-Pak relations. The strongest press release was from the Home Ministry,which reminded the Pakistani government that it has yet to provide the promised voice samples for our own 26/11 terror attack. The MEA statement later that day was more subdued. The mildest press release came from the PMO and was delivered only by the evening.

Name swapping

A single alphabet distinguishes the name of the US president from the US’s most wanted terrorist and more than one TV anchor and spokesperson got the names mixed up. To guard against this contingency,Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao,in an informal briefing with the media,had a slip of paper with the name Osama bin Laden written in large letters in front of her. Nevertheless,even the seasoned Rao tripped up one time,referring to Obama as Osama.

Post-poll plan

After the poll results on May 13,the ruling party will put into operation its long delayed plan for changes in the party organisation and government. One cabinet minister whose exit seems fairly certain is M S Gill,Minister for Programme Implementation. Gill has survived so far because of the Prime Minister’s protection,but with the submission of the Shunglu report,his continuance in government has become untenable. The Congress’s contingency plan for dealing with UPA partners is a more sensitive matter. The ruling party is aware that allies like the DMK and the NCP are fuming because they believe they have been deliberately targeted in the 2G scam. The Congress is determined not to succumb to pressure tactics,regardless of the consequences. It is confident that it will have the necessary numbers to prove its majority. Parties like the SP are only too happy to offer support. In fact,it has already shown its hand by taking the Congress’s side against Murli Manohar Joshi in the PAC.

Intriguing queries

Some Air India staff members have put together a list of 18 points concerning the mismanagement of the airlines which they want to submit to Anna Hazare. They charge Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav of trying to pin the blame for the present crisis solely on the pilots,without responding to a few basic questions posed by the staff for long. Some of the bigger scams have already been well reported in the media. But,some of the queries concerning smaller deals are also intriguing. Who authorised painting all AI aircraft thrice in three years? Why was Rs 12 crore of crockery ordered when the existing crockery was in perfectly good condition? Why did AI sell a huge track of land in Kalina in Mumbai for a song? And why is the CMD renting a bungalow for Rs 3.5 lakh a month when six fully furnished flats are kept for the exclusive use of the CMD?