Opinion Undoing the damage
He may be the RSS nominee but the new BJP president seems to have the freedom to act on his own....
He may be the RSS nominee but the new BJP president seems to have the freedom to act on his own. Nitin Gadkari has already begun to undo some of the damage caused by his predecessor. Rajnath Singh had made removing Vasundhara Raje as leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan a prestige issue,trying to cash in on the fact that Raje is not an RSS favourite. Gadkari,however,has brokered a settlement in the BJPs Rajasthan unit in Rajes favour.
The former Chief Minister will come to Delhi as party general secretary while her successor will be elected by party MLAs. Since the majority of MLAs are with Raje,the state party leader will be someone she chooses. The tacit understanding is that before the next assembly poll,Raje can return to the state and take charge once more.
Temporary update
The Andhra Pradesh governments diaries for the New Year were ready for distribution by December 25 when the ND Tiwari sex tapes surfaced and the Governor resigned. Officials were in a quandary as the diaries carried a photograph of Tiwari as Governor. Since it was too late to print fresh diaries,they were distributed in the districts and far corners of the State. In Hyderabad,the calendar issued by the government was hastily updated with a photograph of Governor E S Narasimhan stuck over Tiwaris picture. But someone pointed out that the last minute alteration was hardly worth the effort,considering that Narasimhan is holding charge only temporarily and a new incumbent will be appointed soon.
Elephant problem
A prominent personality doggedly pursuing Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had an environmental problem unconnected with climate change. Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda sought the dynamic ministers help in relocating four elephants that were destroying crops in his farmlands in Karnataka. At Rameshs behest,the Forest Department relocated the elephants in a reserve forest some 200 kms away. But this expensive exercise may not be a permanent solution to Gowdas problems. Elephants have a tendency to return to their old stalking grounds.
Prayer,not player meet
LAST week,the Jammu and Kashmir Government released a curious press note. It stated that,Chief Minister Mr Omar Abdullah has been invited to the United States of America to the National Players breakfast meet to be hoisted by President Barack Hussain Obama. The formal invitation to this effect was presented to Mr Omar by Parliament member and cricket icon Mr Mohammad Azharuddin,who called on the Chief Minister here.
The garbled message about a players breakfast,Obama hoisting the meet and cricketer Azharuddin delivering the invitation had journalists scratching their heads. Not surprisingly,the press statement was withdrawn shortly after its release with no explanation. It turned out Abdullah had been invited by the US Congress and Senate for a prayer breakfast. No one could figure out how Obama,flag hoisting and cricketer Azharuddin came into the picture.
Selected much earlier
It now turns out that the avid discussion in the national media in November last year on the possible candidates who could replace BJP party president Rajnath Singh was quite off the mark. By that time the RSS had already taken the decision to appoint Nitin Gadkari as BJP president. The giveaway that Gadkari was the choice all along is a booklet titled Politics for Development written by Gadkari,which spells out the agenda for both the party and him. The book showcasing Gadkari was printed in October last year. Gadkari holds forth on himself and the partys agenda,speaking with an authority that clearly stems from knowing that he would soon be taking over the reins of the BJP.
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