Opinion RSS vs BJP

East end candidate

With six months left for the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections,some of the aspirants have begun to make their moves. Najma Heptulla,Hamid Ansari,Meira Kumar and Sushil Kumar Shinde are a few of the names making the rounds. All of them represent minorities. But from Kolkata there is talk of introducing another quota in the presidential sweepstakes this year. It is pointed out that there has never been a president from the eastern sector of the country since President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. The most obvious choice from this part of the country is Pranab Mukherjee,who it is assumed would not like to continue as minister once someone from the younger generation,presumably Rahul Gandhi,takes charge. Mukherjee’s added advantage is that he would have the support of the TMC. Mamata Banerjee is in a mood to score points over the Congress these days.

Good reason for choice

Why did the RJD’s Lalu Prasad pick Rajniti Prasad to create a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha during the Lokpal debate? The RJD has four MPs in the upper house and the others are better known than Prasad. He gained notoriety by snatching the draft bill from Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy’s hand and tearing it. It appears that Prasad was selected because his term expires in April this year and the RJD figured if he was expelled for his indiscipline,then he was the MP who had the least to lose.

Fitness freaks

The Constitution Club has a well-fitted gym for MPs but many parliamentarians prefer to use other facilities. Najma Heptulla,for instance,who has lost considerable weight of late,prefers the upmarket Amatrra gym in the Ashoka Hotel. She says she feels awkward to enter the Constitution Club in her tracksuit while the Amatrra has a separate entrance. Another gym regular who does not patronise the Constitution Club is Rahul Gandhi,who used to be seen regularly at the Amatrra. Actually the real fitness freak in the Gandhi family is Robert Vadra who frequents three gyms,Habitat,Amatrra and the luxurious Aman Hotel gym,apart from cycling to the Delhi Golf Club and jogging in the Lodi gardens.

Art of the matter

The Indian Art Triennale has not been held for the last eight years. With the Lalit Kala Akademi,the government’s premiere art body,abdicating its responsibilities,private players have set up art fairs to fill the vacuum created by the Akademi’s indifference. There seems little likelihood of the Akademi reviving the Triennale in the near future. Chairperson Ashok Vajpeyi completed his tenure at the end of December and before quitting he sacked the secretary,Sudhakar Sharma,reportedly for his inability to organise the Triennale. Sharma is set to appeal his dismissal in court.

Without due warning

As chairperson of the Rajya Sabha,Hamid Ansari is particular about displaying impartiality,so much so that he was reluctant to even grant chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing committee on the Lokpal,Abhishek Manu Singhvi,a few extra days to complete his draft bill. But Ansari’s reputation for fair play has taken a beating after his controversial ruling during the Rajya Sabha debate on the Lokpal Bill Thursday before last,when he abruptly wound up the session at midnight on the advice of the government. Actually,Ansari was kept in the dark by the government till almost the very end when he was informed that if the session continued after midnight,the ruling party would stage a walkout and the government would per force have had to resign. President Pratibha Patil,who was in contact with the government on the issue,took no position on whether or not it was legally tenable for the session to be extended into the next day.