|
Happy EndingDelhi: Given the build-up to
the contest in the last two weeks, the postponement of the much awaited election for the
deputy speaker's post in the Lok Sabha came as an anticlimax. Trinamool Congress leader
Mamata Banerjee's decision to play the honest broker averted what could have had
significant political repercussion on the developments at the Centre. But in the midst of
all the political posturing and the heat that has been generated in the past few weeks in
Parliament, the cordiality between the two contestants, P.M. Sayeed of the Congress and
Rita Verma of the BJP, stood out. As the leaders of the two parties lobbied hard for their
respective candidates, the contestants tried to rise above petty political interests.
Minutes after leaders of both the parties had mutually agreed to the deferment, both Verma
and Sayeed seemed a much relieved lot. MPs were surprised to see the rival candidates
sitting side by side in the Central Hall sharing a cup of tea. And a laugh. "Hum
mukhalif hain dushman nahin, (We are political opponents, not enemies)," is how
Sayeed chose to describe the whole issue.
Political Channels
Hyderabad: N.
Chandrababu Naidu is not satisfied with the mileage he gets in the regional dailies for
his various schemes, repackaged or otherwise. So the techno-savvy chief minister of Andhra
Pradesh is now eyeing the pie in the sky. The idea is to hire a transponder to sell his
image and the TDP's line to voters well ahead of the assembly elections at the end of
1999. Last week, during the launch of the seventh phase of his pet Janmabhoomi campaign,
Naidu asked his media consultants about the cost of hiring a transponder to beam down what
he wants rural voters to know. When told that it was well within his party's budget, Naidu
asked them to explore the possibility of launching a television channel soon. But what
Naidu seems to forget is that starting a channel in a hurry is likely to meet the fate of
JJTV, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha's regional channel, even if he invokes the late NTR's
name.
Friendly Tongue
Patna:
Communication, it seems, is not a problem between Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad
Yadav and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Laloo, who has met Sonia twice in Delhi, says
they had a lengthy discussion on politics and the strategy to attack the BJP Government.
Someone asked Laloo which language the two communicate in -- English or Hindi. Laloo
replied, "Bhai, Hindi mein baat kiye, bahut achcha bolti hain, hum hi kabhi kabhi
angrezi me bol diye (We spoke in Hindi. She speaks quite well, and I used English
occasionally)." Sonia's Hindi certainly can compare with Laloo's English, but at
least they have sorted out their communication problems for the time being.
Remote Testing
Mumbai: It
needs the clout of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to get things going in the
Sena-BJP-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Apparently, the BMC had not
followed up on clearances for 22 flyovers to be built in the city. Not just that, despite
repeated reminders from the state Government, the MMC officials had not bothered to even
answer queries about the delay. Finally, PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari knocked on the doors
of Matoshri, Thackeray's residence. An incensed Thackeray then ordered the Mumbai mayor to
wake up and clear the proposals posthaste. The BMC not only cleared the proposals within
24 hours but also duly informed the Sena chief and the minister concerned. As Thackeray
put it, "It was a good test for the remote control. It works."
Literary Score
Patna:
Sycophants are not new to Indian politics. Neither are bards a novelty in Bihar. Till
yesterday these "minstrels" were the cynosure at political meetings, extolling
the virtues of the state's "strongman" Laloo Yadav. Now, realising where power
rests, they have switched allegiance to his wife and Chief Minister Rabri Devi. At the
Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha rally in Patna last week, copies of Rabri Chalisa were a hit
among the participants.
True to his breed, the bard in this case, Ram Vilas Yadav, a
Rashtriya Janata Dal worker from Khagaria, equates Rabri with "Jhansi Ki Rani",
even though the simple soul prefers to be known as a gareeb ki beti (poor man's daughter).
Ram Vilas' intentions are clear in the literary effort: a request for help from the chief
minister in a manner similar to her promotion of her brothers Subhash and Sadhu Yadav
(both were nominated to the Legislative Council recently). Of course, that's not asking
for too much. A few years ago Laloo was so impressed by Macchar Chalisa, an ode dedicated
to him by one Brahmadev Paswan, that he nominated the author to the Rajya Sabha.
Policy Assault
Lucknow: In
Kalyan Singh's Uttar Pradesh, promises are obviously meant to be broken. Take the chief
minister's recent policy to give the police a free hand to tackle criminals. Last week, it
lay in tatters when his party supporters, led by MLC Ajith Singh and controversial
corporator Kusum Rai, stormed into Lucknow's Kaiserbagh police station and forcibly
rescued Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Vice-President N.S. Rana held there for assault.
Instead of rescuing their beleaguered men, the police top brass transferred Circle Officer
A.K. Upadhyaya, who held firm, to Gonda. When the BJP supporters shouted victory slogans,
Kaiserbagh's policemen could only shed tears -- in silent rage.
Slow Death
Bhopal: When
the employees of Bharat Bhavan -- the prestigious multi-arts centre in the Madhya Pradesh
capital -- went on a 10-day strike recently, it hardly created a ripple in cultural
circles. That wasn't surprising as the elite institution is so starved of funds after
becoming "autonomous" three years ago that all cultural activity has ceased
since last February. Out of its annual income of Rs 95 lakh, 90 per cent is spent on
establishment cost alone.
The 130 employees, including artists, are now demanding
implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. If this is accepted, it'll
mean an additional burden of Rs 6 lakh a year on the centre. "With the establishment
cost going up each year, that will leave no money for cultural activity," says state
Culture Secretary and Bhavan Trustee Secretary Ajit Raizada.
Some suggest that a handsome profit could be made if the vast
under-utilised property were to be rented out. But then the Bharat Bhavan
manage,management has always been too elitist to try such pedestrian solutions. Last week,
ironically, the trustees, headed by bureaucrat Ashok Vajpayee, sought the state
Government's intervention to save the institution from slow death.
Contentious Award
Thiruvananthapuram:
Whenever E.M.S. Namboodiripad's name is invoked in Kerala, it invariably leads to a
controversy. That trend continues even after the Marxist patriarch's death. Last month,
when the state's Mahatma Gandhi University decided to replace Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose's biography with EMS' autobiography as a textbook for BA students, the opposition
parties protested vehemently. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government
resolved the issue by including both the books in the syllabus.
Last week, a fresh row cropped up in the state when the
Bharat Sevak Samaj (BSS) instituted an award in EMS's name for those who had contributed
significantly to the LDF Government's People's Planning Programme -- a decentralisation of
the planning process of which EMS was the architect. But soon after Local Administration
Minister Paloli Muhammed Kutty was selected the winner, EMS's son and CPI(M) State
Committee member E.M. Sreedharan objected to it as the award was instituted without
consulting EMS' family members or the Marxist party. "It is improper of the BSS, with
which EMS had no association, to institute an award in his name," said Sreedharan.
Suitably chastened, Kutty refused to accept the award, saying many others are worthy too.
Matters only cooled when the BSS announced that it was bowing to Sreedharan's wishes and
withdrawing the award.
Berth Control Measures
Calcutta: It
seems like the genesis of an extraordinary purge in the West Bengal CPI(M) unit. Chief
Minister Jyoti Basu's man Friday, Transport Minister Subhash Chakravorty, was excluded
from the North 24 Parganas District Secretariat last week. The "organisation
men" resented the quick rise up the party hierarchy of the chief fund raiser and
crowd collector -- Chakravorty packed Eden Gardens with women and children for the Women's
World Cup cricket final early this year.
Basu's failing health probably has much to do with the fact
that the powerful State Secretariat is crowding out his "liberal" nominees in
the run up to the party Congress. The marginalised pro-Basu leaders were banking on
Chakravorty to organise a rally on their behalf. He has now been reduced to an ordinary
District Committee member, who may not even find a berth in the State Committee. That's a
grim reminder to Basu that his call for pragmatism has few takers in the party.
Hit Parade
Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh's 80,000 police constables are mostly a dispirited lot. Rarely are their
professional skills appreciated or a pep talk given to them by senior officers to do
better. Now, here's an audio cassette to boost their self-esteem. Sung by noted playback
singer S.P. Balasubramanyam, Vandemataram Srinivas and newcomer Nitya Santoshini, its six
songs are expected to stir them into positive action.
"It's important to keep the policemen's morale high
because they are never portrayed as playing a positive role in changing attitudes and
upholding the spirit of law," says Deputy Commissioner of Police C. Ramachandra
Naidu, the cassette producer, who got lyricist Jonnavithula Ramalingeswara Rao to compose
the songs. The idea struck Naidu and Rao following the success of a similar cassette which
motivated child labourers to attend school regularly. The songs underscore the need for
public cooperation, strength of character to enforce law without fear or favour,
protection to all communities and help to the weak in distress.
Already, the cassette is in great demand because of the
stirring lines and Balasubramanyam's voice. Enthused by the response, Director-General of
Police H.J. Dora has asked all policemen in the state to buy the cassette -- costing Rs 35
-- whose proceeds will educate the children of policemen who died during duty. City Police
Commissioner R.P. Singh has gone one better: he has ordered the cassette to be played
during roll calls and parades. |
