Power point
With Sushil Kumar Shinde taking over from P Chidambaram as Home Minister,National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menons power has grown. Chidambaram has asserted the authority of the home minister to insist that he preside over a daily morning meeting with the heads of the Intelligence Bureau,RAW,the NSA and the home secretary. When Shinde took over,he did not continue the practice and had to be prodded by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to do so. Even then,unlike in the past when Chidambaram would brief the PM about developments on the internal security front which came up at the meeting,it is now Menon who usually reports back to Singh on home affairs,and not Shinde.
No joint press meets
Several heads of state visiting India in recent months wanted to address the local press jointly with the Prime Minister. However,the PM has been reluctant because he does not want to comment on several contentious issues which have been in the news of late. The Ministry of External Affairs has consequently declined to hold joint press conferences,to the dismay of many foreign heads including Afghan President Hamid Karzai and British Prime Minister David Cameron. French President Francoise Hollande was so anxious to meet the Indian press that he ignored convention and the French Embassy organised a press conference on its own at short notice.
Not SPGs domain
One of the curious aspects of the AgustaWestland helicopter deal is the role of the SPG. Since these helicopters were to be used by SPG protectees,it is understandable that the force would want to give a list of specifications for safety requirements. But then SPG director B V Wanchoos trip to Italy for a fortnight on official work so that he could get to visit the helicopter headquarters appears to have been unnecessary. It is IAF pilots and flight experts who provide essential inputs on technicalities concerning flying and maintenance of helicopters. Wanchoo,who is close to the Gandhi family,is now governor of Goa and,it has been argued,he cannot be questioned about the deal as he is a
constitutional authority.
All eyes on MMRCA
With the AgustaWestland deal caught in a scandal,the arms lobby is waiting to see whether the government will go ahead with finalising the purchase of medium multi-range combat aircraft. The deal is worth around $18 billion. The French have secured the contract but others believe they have a fighting chance. There is an urgency about completing the deal. If it does not materialise soon,the 2014 general elections could put it into cold storage and a new government could come in.
Uninterrupted stay
Arjun Modhwadia,Gujarat PCC chief,posed an RTI question enquiring why Gujarats former home minister Amit Shah had the uninterrupted use of a suite at Gujarat Bhavan in Delhi for one and a half years. As per the Bhavans rules,MLAs are granted rooms for only two nights at a stretch and permission for an extension is limited to a few extra days. Shah did not just monopolise one of the three suites at the Bhavan,but at times the second one was reserved for his family. The reply to the RTI is evasive,stating that to provide details would compromise Shahs security. All the same,since the RTI question,Shah stays at a five-star hotel when in Delhi.
Wooing Mamata
Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she does not plan to join forces with either of the two main political alliances,the UPA and NDA,but the BJP is still hopeful that the mercurial Trinamool leader might change her mind given the increasing antagonism between her and the Congress. This year,Mamata and L K Advani exchanged greeting cards. The BJP was heartened by a handwritten note by her enquiring solicitously about Advanis health and the welfare of his family. Some TMC MPs remain in touch with BJP parliamentary leaders. When Mamata visited Parliaments Central Hall during the last session,both Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had made it a point to go up to her and chat.
Dhaka-Delhi ties
If the close friendship between the foreign ministers of Bangladesh and India is any indication,Dhaka and Delhi should have the best of relationships. During Salman Khurshids recent visit to Dhaka,he was frequently seen chatting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Dipu Moni. Monis husband Tawfique Nawaz was at Oxford at the same time as Khurshid and the friendship between the two families is of long standing.
