|
Newsnotes Delhi:Trading Notes
The intra-party intrigue in the BJP is coming out into the open. A senior
leader's campaign to malign party ideologue Govindacharya took a dramatic turn last week
with photocopies of a note being circulated among journalists. The note, apparently
written by Govindacharya, comments on the behaviour and thinking of other party
functionaries. It mentions, for instance, how senior leader M.M. Joshi tried to finish him
off politically and confesses to certain "loose" remarks about party General
Secretary S.S. Bhandari. When quizzed by senior colleagues, Govindacharya reportedly
admitted that the handwriting resembled his own. The notings were probably made a few
years ago and he forgot to destroy the incriminating papers. The manner in which the dirt
is being dug up about Govindacharya has now convinced a section of the party that some rss
whole-timers are behind the leak of the documents.
Delhi:Hugging Scoop
On completing one year in office, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq
Abdullah threw a big bash for Delhi's journalists. During the course of the meal, he
announced that he was inviting top politicians for a party. True to his word, Farooq first
called on Chandra Shekhar, who promptly dragged him off to Ballia for a public meeting.
Then his pr department informed the press that he was going to call on Advani. As
mediapersons gathered outside his house, Advani and his wife walked out to greet Farooq
who gave the BJP leader a big hug and told the waiting journalists: "I've given you
the scoop of the day. I've joined the BJP." And before he could fool around any
further, a visibly embarrassed Advani dragged him into the house.
Delhi:Teething Trouble
The euphoria generated by the recent Delhi High Court ban on interviews for admissions
into nursery classes seems to have subsided. The high court, on a parent's petition, has
prohibited private schools from interviewing little children or their parents before they
are admitted. But now that the registration rush has begun, the capital's private schools
are realising that they don't have easy alternatives in sight.
With each of Delhi's 700 private schools having to sift through between 500 and 4,000
applications, there has to be some method in the madness of selection. Education Minister
Harsh Vardhan has a ready prescription: zonal schools and a lottery system. While the
lottery scheme, tried a year ago, was found to be grossly unfair, the zonal system is far
from becoming a reality.
Meanwhile, school managements are trying to modify admission procedures. At Delhi Public
School, Mathura Road, parents do not have to meet the principal this time. All the same,
heads of schools argue that there is nothing wrong in interviewing parents. Indu Pillai,
principal of Mother's International School, is quite vociferous. "Why cannot we take
in children whose parents can at least feel one with our philosophy of teaching?"
Tough question.
Bhopal: Early to Rise
It's early to bed and early to rise for cabinet ministers in Madhya Pradesh. The
directive comes from Chief Minister Digvijay Singh following complaints that people had to
often wait till noon for a minister's "darshan" -- in one case, visitors were
kept waiting as the vip was getting a massage. According to the new guideline, they have
to meet the public from 9 a.m. and party workers between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. That's not
all; they have to greet people with a Vande Mataram -- at least in the 50th year of
Independence -- and wear Gandhi caps at party functions. The exercise may be aimed at the
assembly elections next year, but if reports are to be believed, it is their nocturnal
activities that are responsible for the ministers waking up bleary-eyed. For the time
being though, late nights are out and the masseurs are in demand only at day-break.
Bhopal:Little Buddha
He admits to being hopelessly addicted to the microphone. It gives him
"heavenly pleasure". His listeners probably feel the same way. Rituraj Bhargava,
14, whose discourses attract thousands in his home district Rajgarh, has emerged as the
torchbearer of Madhya Pradesh's literacy movement. This week, when he left for Holland for
a lecture on Indian culture and spiritualism, unicef bestowed on him the title of
"Ambassador of the Children of Madhya Pradesh". A Class X student studying in
Biaora town, Rituraj is known as "Bal Sant". He has been the literacy mission's
star campaigner for two years now. "I have seen the exploitation of unlettered men. I
now want to light up the lives of people with literacy and knowledge," says the
highly articulate teenager, quoting shlokas from the Bhagwad Gita and Ramayana with ease.
Rituraj wants to become "somebody like Vivekananda". His talent was spotted in
other countries through the unicef cassette Jai Akshar. He "knows" that Uma
Bharati also started in almost the same fashion, but says he won't follow in the BJP MP's
footsteps. Politics' loss will be the people's gain.
Chandigarh:One-way Ride
For many Congressmen, keeping "King Kesri" in good humour is a
full-time job. Not surprising then, the preparations for his maiden visit to Chandigarh
degenerated into competitive sycophancy. While a section of the Chandigarh Congress
offered a cosy berth in the superfast Shatabdi Express, others proposed booking a special
train. Eventually, it was an aicc member who took the cake by "arranging" the
Madhya Pradesh government aircraft. Given Chief Minister Digvijay Singh's eagerness to
placate Kesri, it didn't take much string-pulling either. A state minister took off from
Bhopal on an "official engagement" though he had no business to transact in
Chandigarh. On the way, Kesri and a retinue of aicc office-bearers just hitched a ride.
However, chacha was not as lucky about his return. After hearing of the developments in
Uttar Pradesh, Kesri was anxious to return to the capital, and even tried to hurry through
his meet-the-press in Chandigarh. But bad weather came as a dampener, forcing him to
travel back by an ordinary train.
Hyderabad:Imposters Inc
The CEO of Andhra Pradesh Inc -- as Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu refers to
himself and his state -- is realising that corporatisation has its pitfalls. An
enterprising woman, carrying a visiting card "Sumangali, Secretary to the Chief
Minister", has been exploiting the new system. She flashed it to stay in a Delhi
hotel, picked up clothes from a Hyderabad shop and had the bills sent to the Chief
Minister's Office (CMO). After discreet attempts to trap her failed, the police launched a
woman-hunt to get her. Sumangali, however, is not the only one. Others, not as smart, pose
as CMO officials on the phone to get sundry favours done. Some calls are genuine, though;
like the peon in the CMO who ordered a police inspector to provide security to squatters.
The man, who was shunted out of the CMO, had also posed as Naidu's secretary. Now, an
embarrassed Naidu wants the police to evolve a system to catch the system busters.
Hyderabad: King Contest
It was billed as a slugfest, but ended with a whimper. The much anticipated
showdown between film star Mohan Babu and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu
Naidu ended last week with the TDP expelling its Rajya Sabha member. Babu now plans to
step up his campaign against Naidu's "autocratic style and bigtime corruption".
The TDP wants Babu to give up his Rajya Sabha membership. But Babu has appealed to
President K.R. Narayanan to protect the fundamental rights of individual members speaking
up against the party leadership. "We will soon see an entertaining battle between the
collection king and the corruption king," says former MLA Bezwada Papi Reddy. With
the Congress too intensifying its anti-Naidu tirade, harrowing times are ahead for the TDP
chief.
Gandhinagar: Doomed Dam
It may have been former chief minister Chimanbhai Patel's pet project, but the
controversial Sardar Sarovar dam project on the Narmada has been a pet aversion for later
governments in Gujarat. It was not top priority for the short-lived BJP government while
during Shankersinh Vaghela's administration a Supreme Court order based on a writ petition
by Medha Patkar's Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) halted work on the project. Last week,
another controversy brewed when several displaced tribal families sat on a dharna near the
dam protesting against the poor conditions at the resettlement sites provided by the
Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam (SSNN). The affected families, numbering some 250, say they
want their farm lands returned to them after dewatering. This unexpected development has
come as a boost for the NBA which is now espousing the cause of the oustees. Says senior
nba leader Shripad Dharmadhikari: "If this is the treatment that the oustees from
Gujarat are getting from the SSNN, one can imagine what the oustees in Madhya Pradesh
would get." Clearly, the controversy over the Sardar Sarovar dam isn't going to
subside soon.
Mumbai: Between Friends
It was a rare occasion for both of them -- Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar
Joshi and his predecessor Sharad Pawar sharing a dais in Pune last week. The event itself
-- a meeting of the apex body of grape-growers -- was less significant than the fact that
two powerful satraps, one from the Shiv Sena and the other from the Congress, were on the
same platform. While most people were surprised, it's no secret that Joshi and Pawar have
shared a healthy camaraderie since their early days in politics. Never mind that they
don't miss an opportunity to snare each other on the floor of the legislature. Insiders
recall how Joshi, during his first few days as chief minister in 1995, discreetly asked
senior bureaucrats for tips on governance and Pawar's style of functioning. In fact, the
evening before they got together in Pune, they met in Mumbai. Pawar went to
"Varsha", once his and now Joshi's official residence, to discuss some tricky
local issues. What are old friends for anyway? But what's surprising is Pawar's keen
interest in minor state issues at a time when he desperately needs a national profile.
Maybe, the chief minister can give Pawar a few tips on that score.
Mumbai: Clean Chit
It is a victory by default but the Shiv Sena bosses do not care for such finer
points. Last week, Shashikant Sutar, party strongman from Pune and former agriculture
minister, was exonerated of corruption charges and malpractices by the Justice M.L. Dudhat
Commission for lack of evidence. Anna Hazare, the anti-corruption crusader from Ralegaon
Siddhi who had levelled charges against Sutar and another minister Mahadev Shivankar last
October, did not appear before the commission as he felt the inquiry would be an eye-wash.
Early this year, Shivankar was cleared of all charges. Last week, another minister,
Shobatai Phadnavis of the BJP, was also exonerated of corruption charges by another
inquiry commission. All of a sudden, the Shiv Sena-BJP Government has reasons to be
pleased about the track record of its ministers. Sutar, though, is threatening to file a
defamation suit against Hazare. "Let him go to court; it's an independent forum.
There I can reveal what I know," says Hazare. The last word has not yet been heard on
the corruption crusade.
Agartala: Mission Control
It was ostensibly to defuse the crisis in Tripura's Congress unit that Mizoram Chief
Minister Lalthanhawla visited Agartala recently. What raised eyebrows was a closed-door
meeting he held at the Circuit House with Bijoy Hrankhwal, the surrendered leader of the
banned insurgency group Tripura National Volunteers (TNV). In the late '80s, Hrankhwal's
TNV had been responsible for several massacres of Bengalis. He came overground after the
Congress victory in 1988 to head a special commission for the rehabilitation of
surrendered insurgents. The Marxists sacked him in 1996. Hrankhwal is now believed to be
busy reorganising the TNV in its new avatar, the National Liberation Front of Tripura
(NLFT). The links between the NLFT and the Congress are as well known as those between the
Marxists and the other insurgency group in the state, the All Tripura Tiger Force. Recent
weeks have seen three prominent Marxist leaders abducted by the NLFT. As elections
approach, there are apprehensions of violence, which could lead to President's rule. Seen
in this context, there might be more than meets the eye in the Lalthanhawla- Hrankhwal
conclave. |
