Opinion Post-poll planning

Missed deadline

Amid confusion over which day Raksha Bandhan fell this year,many Delhi schools and colleges as well as courts were closed for the festival on August 20,but Parliament had a holiday only the next day. This was apparently because the Congress was keen to ensure passage of the food security Bill on Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary on August 20. However,despite its best efforts,the ruling party could not get the Bill passed that day.

The Congress’s original plan was that party president Sonia Gandhi would announce passage of the legislation in her speech at Talkatora Grounds,for the launch of the food security scheme in Delhi. But she had to revise her address in view of the changed circumstances. Even the wording of the spate of advertisements to mark Rajiv’s birth anniversary had to be altered. The Delhi government ad announced inauguration of a food security programme,not Bill. The Uttrakhand government ad declared it was launching the food security ordinance. Ads of various ministries talked about the Sadbhavna Divas and “Rajiv’s vision” and not the food security Bill.

Changing roles

In 2009,Jairam Ramesh was at the forefront in planning the Congress strategy for the general elections and was allotted 99,South Avenue,as his base. For the 2014 election,Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry appears to be the pointperson for the campaign and has moved to 99,South Avenue. Already Mistry has become very active in Uttar Pradesh,appointing 75 district Congress presidents and 400 block chiefs,causing much heartburn in party ranks. Incidentally,there was a buzz in the Congress when an SMS to Shankersinh Vaghela claimed that the BJP’s Amit Shah,Mistry’s counterpart in Uttar Pradesh,had taken a turn for the worse. In fact,Shah,who was hospitalised in Ahmedabad,is out after a bout of pneumonia.

Dual responsibility

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was in the US consulting doctors when there was an attack by Maoists on a Congress procession in Chhattisgarh. He was also missing when communal clashes took place in Kishtwar. In both cases it was Finance Minister P Chidambaram who dealt with the situation. On August 20,Shinde returned to Delhi after a liver operation in Mumbai,but his health is still fragile. The government has to take a call on whether Shinde should be moved from the key ministry. Since Chidambaram cannot handle dual charge indefinitely,there is a proposal to bring in Kamal Nath as home minister.

In revolt

The Congress in Chhattisgarh may be heading for a split. Ajit Jogi has defied party by asserting publicly that he is the leader of the Congress in the state. Jogi has even announced candidates for Assembly constituencies without checking with the party first. But Jogi is no Virbhadra Singh,and the high command in Delhi has not taken kindly to his tactics.

Getting away

Retired Tata group chief Ratan Tata appeared in the Supreme Court on August 21 in connection with his petition that publication of the Niira Radia tapes was an invasion of his privacy. Tata will be in the US for the next six months,teaching a course in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Nixing rumours

The buzz in Delhi was that relations were strained between Minister of State,Human Resource Development Ministry,Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda after the paperback edition of his latest book did not carry a dedication to his wife. There was also talk in Congress circles that Robert Vadra and Priyanka were not seeing eye to eye since his name figured prominently in the media for his land deals. Both couples appear to have made it a point to squash such rumours. Tharoor threw a party to celebrate his third wedding anniversary. The Vadras were seen last week dining at a five-star hotel,holding hands and engrossed in each other’s company.