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August 30, 1999
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Elections 99
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Painted Glory
Bhopal: In the Madhya Pradesh
Congress, sycophancy is the name of the game. And Chief Minister Digvijay Singh has no
dearth of sycophants. In his home district of Raigarh, there are at least five MLAs trying
to flaunt their loyalty to the "Raja", as Digvijay is popularly known in
political circles. MLA Pratap Singh Mandloi has painted in bold letters "Raja Ka
Pratap" (Raja's glory) on his vehicle. Other honourable representatives have
"Raja Ka Bal" (Raja's power), "Raja Ka Mohan" and "Raja Ka
Lal" painted on their vehicles and wags say the only remaining MLA from Raigarh may
well inscribe on his car "Raja Ki Dhool" (Raja's dust)! Blame Game
Srinagar: When the going gets tough
for him, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is known to turn his ire on the Centre. As he did
last week at a hurriedly called press conference, accusing Delhi of being the root cause
for all his problems. Stung by an off-the-cuff remark by a senior BSF official about some
of the ruling National Conference (NC) members being hand-in-glove with the militants,
Farooq was at his acerbic best against the Centre. Never short of bluff and bluster, the
volatile NC leader even offered to welcome the tourists from Pakistan to the Valley. Not a
bad idea provided he can assure they go back.
Total Eclipse
Bhubaneswar: Giridhar Gamang's faith
in astrology is well known, but now he may well be taking things a bit too far.
Bureaucrats find it hard to get an audience with the chief minister as he spends most of
his time closeted with a godman from Puri. But last week, Gamang excelled himself. Warned
that rays from the sun during a solar eclipse could be a bad omen, he stayed indoors
throughout the day. For one whole day, superstition eclipsed all pressing work in Orissa.
Remote Office
Hyderabad: Drawing up list of candidates and
the TDP's poll strategies has seen Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu confined to his
Jubilee Hills residence for weeks. But for officials in the state secretariat, 8 km away,
it's a punishing routine meeting Naidu. The other day, a civil servant set out to meet him
after office hours in his personal car, only to be stopped by the police guarding the road
to the CM's residence. After ascertaining that he did not live there, they ordered him to
turn back. Even the official files that he was carrying did not help as he did not have
his I-card with him. Left with no option, the poor man had to go home and return with his
I-card and the official mobile phone. His consolation: at least the Election Commission
can't accuse him of misusing official machinery. |
