DMK,which has a near-monopoly on TV channels in Tamil Nadu,is known to put pressure on the Centre not to issue licences to others. (Jaya TV received clearance when AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa was an ally of the Vajpayee government at the Centre.) For over two years,the I&B Ministry ignored the application of actor-turned-politician Vijaykant for setting up Captain TV channel. But recently,the ministry cleared 20 long-pending applications,including that of Vijaykants media group. Congress has decided to extend a hand of friendship to Vijaykant,a growing political force in the state,even if that means alienating the DMK.
Contingency plan
Though Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had ordered that his extended family patch up,his son M.K. Azhagiri has not given up his grudge match against the Marans. He instructed a dozen DMK MPs in Delhi not to speak to his cousin,Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran. Maran seems to have thought of a contingency plan for his political future in a post-Karunanidhi scenario. Marans powerful media group has given extensive coverage to Vijaykants visit to Delhi. Vijaykant,however,insists there is no truth in the rumours that Maran and he have struck up a friendship.
Rendered redundant
Sports Minister M.S. Gill has almost no role to play in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games next October. Chairperson of the Games organising committee,Suresh Kalmadi,has made sure that he reports only to the Prime Minister and handles all game-related events. Meanwhile,Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has appointed former chief secretary R. Narainswami as the all-powerful adviser responsible for ensuring the infrastructure and venues are completed on schedule. So,the Ministrys main job is simply to advance the money for the Games from the Finance Ministry to the concerned departments. In fact,the director general of the Sports Authority of India,S. Chatterjee,who was appointed by Gill,finds himself at such a loose end that he has gone on holiday to the Andaman Islands.
Dorchester class
The buzz in the corridors of power is that two Cabinet ministers stayed at the super-expensive Dorchester Hotel in London,even after Pranab Mukherjees diktat on cutting costs. Tariffs at a Dorchester suite can be five times that of St James Court,a hotel run by the Tatas,where our ministers normally stay when in London.
Whats in a name?
NREGS is to be named in honour of the Mahatma,and not a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family as is the practice in all Congress-led governments. It is curious that no new government scheme carries the name of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who is now in his second term in office. It has been left to Singhs alma mater,Cambridge University,to institute three scholarships for students in his name.
Ministerial warfare
Minister of State for Revenue S.S. Palanimanickam is on the warpath and has complained to senior Congress leaders against Urban Affairs Minister Jaipal Reddy. Palanimanickam,who has been living in an MPs bungalow on Bishambar Das Marg for the last eight years,was asked by the Directorate of Estates to move out immediately. His house is to be demolished to make space for a high-rise apartment building. As a veteran DMK MP,elected seven times,Palanimanickam feels the minister could at least have shown him the courtesy of informing him personally. Even the CPWD was in the dark about the slated demolition and was busy spending money white washing his house.
Service war in club
The IRS triumphed over the armed forces in the battle for president of the prestigious Delhi Gymkhana Club. Members clearly did not approve of Air Marshall (retd) Ahluwallia breaking tradition by standing for a second term,even if he felt he needed to avenge an earlier humiliation,when he had to step down to facilitate former army chief J.J. Singhs election. There were,in fact,three officers from the IRS and one from the Customs among the 17 elected to the managing committee. Both candidates from the IFS lost. The lone candidate from the IAS,however,won handsomely.
