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Snake Charmer Delhi: Around the time Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was making peace with
his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore, a different kind of peace meeting was
being held in Delhi. The left parties organised a convention against communalism with the
intention of bringing together all the members of the erstwhile United Front. Though the
spadework for this get-together was done by CPI(M) leader H.S. Surjeet, he could not make
it as he was recovering from an eye operation. Nevertheless, once bitter enemies Laloo
Prasad Yadav, H.D. Deve Gowda and Mulayam Singh Yadav stole the limelight by holding hands
and telling the world at large that the Third Front was fighting fit to rule at the
Centre. Seeing the bonhomie on display, someone reminded Laloo that not long ago he had
called Deve Gowda a "cobra". Never at a loss for words, the RJD chief quipped:
"A cobra is a source of strength. With him on our side we'll sting the
Opposition."
Give and Take
Hyderabad: The
fight for the legacy of N.T. Rama Rao, founder of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), continues.
On the one hand, NTR's son N. Harikrishna has rebelled against brother-in-law N.
Chandrababu Naidu, saying the chief minister is trying to eclipse NTR's policies and
promises. For his part, Naidu is trying hard to regain the support of NTR's children,
especially in view of the assembly elections. For this, he is getting TDP MPs to put
pressure on the Union Government to award the Bharat Ratna to NTR and grant Rs 2 crore for
a cancer hospital named after NTR's wife. Naidu listed these among his priorities before
the budget session of Parliament. Given its own worries and to keep Naidu in good humour,
the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government is likely to concede the demand, considering the
recent spurt in the awarding of Bharat Ratnas. In turn, it helps Naidu contain the damage
caused by Harikrishna's campaign.
Equal Treatment
Mumbai: After
he won the confidence vote, Chief Minister Narayan Rane was to meet the press in his
ante-chamber along with his deputy, Gopinath Munde. It was a packed room and at the head
of the table was a high chair meant for Rane. Suddenly, a peon came and placed another
chair next to it, but on seeing the mismatch he replaced the high chair with one more of
the smaller version. The mediapersons chuckled as the poor chap tried to adjust the height
of the two chairs so that neither Rane nor Munde would look "small". Thankfully,
he got it right just before the two walked in. It's another matter that Munde dwarfed
Rane-literally and figuratively.
Celestial Scheme
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's disdain for superstitions is well
known. So when the Small Savings Directorate under him released an advertisement seeking
public investment in the name of celestial bodies, the rationalist chief minister was
suitably embarrassed. The ad put out by the directorate sought to tell prospective
investors that the coming two months were good for people born under any of the 12 zodiac
signs for investing in the savings scheme. But it was not good for the DMK Government's
image. The directorate was promptly ordered to stop publishing the ad. But as one of its
officials pointed out, only such gimmicks attract the public and that politics should not
be mixed with business. |
