Opinion Punch-drunk face

Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Tushar Chaudhary had to change offices thrice in the last nine months,along with his personal staff. First,he was located in Nirman Bhavan, then he shifted to more spacious quarters in Shastri Bhavan and now he is back in Nirman Bhavan. Chaudhary’s Shastri Bhavan office,which included cubicles for his secretarial staff,was right next to Law Minister Veerappa Moily’s office. Moily decided to appropriate the Tribal Ministry’s space on the grounds that he needed a conference room to accommodate large delegations which call on him. Considering that Moily’s own office is fairly spacious and he has three ante rooms and a visitors room,a new conference hall seems an unnecessary luxury.

The fire-fighters

Sonia Gandhi and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal did some belated firefighting in the wake of the poor publicity the government got over the death of eight-year-old Aman Khan in Kanpur. Aman’s parents charged that their sick child could not be moved to the hospital in time because of the SPG’s security restrictions during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to the city. Curiously,the PM’s media managers,who should have been the most active in defending the PM’s security guard,had little to say. A TV correspondent got his ear chewed for having the temerity to make inquiries.

These days,the PM’s media adviser,Harish Khare,a distinguished former editor of The Hindu,frequently belittles the falling standards of his previous profession to the chagrin of the Capital’s media. During the PM’s recent foreign trips,Khare rarely mixed with journalists,even while on board the PM’s special plane. He was more comfortable in the company of senior government officials,such as the NSA and the PM’s principal secretary,rather than his former colleagues.

Mind your language

Many in the BJP privately endorse Murli Manohar Joshi’s suggestion that whatever one has to say,one should choose one’s words carefully. Party president Nitin Gadkari’s marketplace language has become a source of embarrassment. Apart from his ill-chosen remarks against political rivals,the BJP president at party discussions does not always weigh his words even in the presence of women. Gadkari admires the late Marathi comedian actor Dada Kondke,whose earthy humour in films lay in the use of expressions with double entendre in a bawdy context. In Bhandara,Gadkari even used the naughty title of a Kondke film in his speech.

So what,asks Rosaiah

While many in the Congress are panicky over the growing momentum of rebel Jagan Reddy’s campaign,Andhra Chief Minister K Rosaiah claims to be unaffected. Rosaiah’s favourite line in response to Jagan’s challenge is simply: “So what? I will leave.” The 78-year-old veteran points out that he has held every important portfolio in state government over the last 20 years and served as finance minister under several Andhra chief ministers. After such a glorious innings,he has nothing to lose by stepping down. His long and illustrious career may come to an end sooner than he thinks.

Change of mind

The Karnataka Bar Association planned a function to felicitate Santosh Hegde for his “bold and courageous” stand in resigning as the Lokayukta. But the programme was quickly cancelled after Hegde took back his resignation. Two Bangalore judges hastily instructed their clerks not to send off the letters of congratulation to Hegde,which they had already drafted.