Opinion Major purge
Sasikalas expulsion from the AIADMK was followed by a complete purge of the staff at Jayalalithaas Poes Garden residence
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Major purge
Sasikalas expulsion from the AIADMK was followed by a complete purge of the staff at Jayalalithaas Poes Garden residence. The entire extended Sasikala clan has been blacklisted. They had begun to believe that they belonged to the first family of Tamil Nadu and were constantly interfering in transfers and postings of officials. Such was Sasikalas clout that many AIADMK MPs had separate mobiles simply to answer calls from her. The exact reason for the downfall of Sasikala is still in the realm of speculation. One story goes that Jayalalithaa learnt that her long-time companion was making alternative arrangements in case the chief minister was eventually convicted in the disproportionate assets case. The grapevine claimed that she had asked for the horoscope of two ministers to figure out which one would make a more suitable replacement. Jayalalithaa suspected that Sudhakaran,her estranged foster son and Sasikalas nephew,was protecting Ritesh,a DMK MP with whom he had close business links. Jayalalithaa was also suspicious of Sasikalas husband Natarajan who spends a lot of time in Delhi and had visited some senior Congress leaders residences.
Guarding against leaks
After the Cabinet secretariat note to ministers on FDI in retail was leaked to the media,the PMO ordered an inquiry to trace the source of the leak. As a precaution,the Cabinet secretariat has now stopped the tradition of circulating a note two days before a meeting. The final draft of the Lokpal Bill,which came up for approval before the Cabinet last week,was not handed to the ministers even on the day of the meeting. The PM expressed his annoyance that the main features of the draft had already been reported by journalists. Incidentally,the PMO and the Cabinet secretariat have been asked to reduce the number of letters giving instructions to ministers so that there is less danger of them getting into the wrong hands.
Equally helpless
Lyricist and MP Javed Akhtar was even more thunderstruck than HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha stalled the introduction of the Bill amending the Copyright Act on the grounds that Sibals son represented a music company and it amounted to a conflict of interest. Although the Bill was finally introduced in the Upper House the following week,it could not be discussed because of the Oppositions uproar over Home Minister P Chidambaram and the Mullaperiyar dam issue. Akhtar has been waiting for a year for the Bill to be passed and found it delayed on one ground or the other. The articulate MP is still to make his maiden speech since he has been reserving the privilege for speaking for an unlimited time during the debate on the amended Copyright Act,his pet reform legislation which will benefit musicians and artistes. Akhtar had assumed the passing of the Bill was a sure thing since MPs from all parties had given him an assurance. Seeing Akhtars woebegone face,a journalist suggested to Sibal that he should try and help him. The Minister retorted, When I cant help myself,how am I going to help him.
Hindons Americanisation
Visitors to the Hindon Air Force base find a little America on the premises thanks to the Defence Ministrys purchase of six super Hercules military transport aircraft worth $1.2 billion. The aircraft came along with US pilots,technicians and engineers who require an American ambience,including hot dog and hamburger outlets and American style cafes. The aircraft hangars are so sophisticated that if a match is lit,the foam shield automatically drops down as a defence mechanism. With six more aircraft in the pipeline,the Americanisation of Hindon will no doubt spread rapidly.
Reciprocal feelings
Anna Hazare has an aversion to the political class and the feeling is reciprocated as Rajdeep Sardesai discovered to his cost when he hosted the CNN IBN Indian of the Year awards this month. All the Congress guests,barring Sanjay Singh, boycotted the function when they heard that Hazare was to receive an award. Speaker Meira Kumar who was to have distributed the prizes and whose name was on the invitation bailed out at the eleventh hour. Even the non-Congress politician Mamata Banerjee made it clear that she would not share the same dais as Hazare.
Roving MP
The NCPs Supriya Sule is constantly on the move, maintaining four different households. When Parliament is in session,she stays with her father Sharad Pawar in his ministerial bungalow in Delhi. In Mumbai,she has a flat where her husband and children live. She also has residences in Baramati and Pune which form part of her Lok Sabha constituency.
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