| Sour Relations Delhi: For those who believe the RSS controls all the BJP's actions, here's some
food for thought. When invitations were sent out for the BJP-led Central Government's
anniversary bash -- organised by Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan --
at the capital's Hauz Khas monument recently, the RSS mouthpiece Panchajanya did not
receive one. The publication's soft-spoken editor Tarun Vijay tried to wish away the hurt
by joking to fellow journalists that he would have to borrow a pass from them for the
occasion. But he had real reason to feel humiliated when he turned up for the function --
he was turned away at the entrance like many other senior RSS functionaries. One more
reason for the RSS brass to grumble about the BJP's independent initiative.
Friendly Monitor
Gandhinagar: He
may be a friendly figure in the Raj Bhavan but not one who would refrain from pulling up
the Government if needed. Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel can consider it a
blessing that the state's new governor, Sundar Singh Bhandari, is from the RSS-BJP stock:
a relief from earlier governors -- former Congressman Krishna Pal Singh and retired
Rajasthan High Court judge Anshuman Singh -- who harassed BJP governments endlessly. But
that does not mean his Government's performance will not be monitored. A former BJP
national secretary in charge of Gujarat affairs, Bhandari is well tuned to the state's
politics and is sure to keep the party central leadership posted about any hiccups.
Turning Green
Lucknow: After
initially adopting a confrontationist stance, Uttar Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan seems to
have toned down. No longer does he hold divisional-level meetings to review development
work and law and order situation in the state. Instead he has decided to concentrate on
"softer issues" like population and plantation. To reduce the state's teeming
numbers, the governor is advocating birth-control measures for women. And to expand the
state's green cover, he's suggesting that saplings be gifted at marriages.
"Population is on the rise and plantation is on the decline," says Bhan.
"Uttar Pradesh should ideally have 33 per cent forest cover, but has only 17.5 per
cent. If Uttarakhand is separated, that would get reduced to 2.5 per cent." At least
Bhan's green ideas will not make the state's beleaguered Chief Minister Kalyan Singh see
red.
Image in Ruins
Bangalore: To
see former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda humbled is Union Civil Aviation Minister H.N.
Ananth Kumar's goal. The BJP man does not miss an opportunity to poke fun at the
"crumbling foundation stones" in the JD leader's home district of Hassan. During
a visit to Mangalore on March 21, Kumar was at it again: "Whenever I visit Hassan I
see so many dev kals and rev kals (foundation stones for projects laid by Deve Gowda and
his son and Karnataka Housing Minister H.D. Revanna) that it resembles the ruins of
Hampi." When a journalist pointed out that Kumar too has similar kals to hide, the
minister claimed they would become "reality" soon. Like the Tata-backed
Devanahalli airport project?
Blast from the Past
Delhi: Defence
Ministry officials were mighty pleased by Russian Defence Minister Marshal I.D. Sergeyev's
visit to the capital last week. The visit had been postponed twice in recent months giving
Delhi the jitters. So when the affable marshal arrived Defence Minister George Fernandes
rolled out the red carpet. At a banquet he presented Sergeyev with a silver platter. The
marshal returned the compliment: a box containing a limited-edition Makarov .545 pistol
with 20 bullets and a holster. The gift triggered merry laughter among the audience: what
would the Baroda Dynamite Man do with it? Fernandes merely smiled before waving it away to
an assistant who mentioned the memento would be sent to the toshakhana (government
repository). |
