|
Sept 13, 1999
 Cover Story
Elections 99
Columns
Newsnotes
From the
Editor in Chief
Editorials
Eyecatchers
Voices
States
Defence
Cinema
Books
Offtrack
Bodyline
Centrestage
Issue Contents
|
|
|
|
Noodle Therapy
Delhi: When he was Congress
president, Sitaram Kesri's diet was restricted to soup and khichdi, thanks to a troubled
digestive system. But after he was ousted, he underwent surgery and seems to have regained
his appetite with a vengeance. Now, while other Congressmen are running helter-skelter,
the veteran CWC member spends time giving gyan to his cronies. An out of office Kesri has
also discovered a yen for Chinese food and taken to visiting the House of Ming at Delhi's
Taj hotel with his supporters. Obviously, old man Kesri can stomach much more when he's
out of the power game. Local
Dilemma
Thiruvananthapuram: Pity the comrades
in Kerala, for whom this election campaign has become somewhat of an embarrassment. With
the BJP virtually non-existent in the state, old rivals Congress and CPI(M) are slugging
it out. But with the Marxists committed to supporting the Congress at the Centre in order
to "keep the communal forces out", their campaign carries little conviction. At
virtually every rally they are faced with the embarrassing question: "Why should we
vote for you? We might as well vote directly for the Congress." You can't beat that
voter logic, can you?
Gym Reality
Chandigarh: Just before the polls
were announced, former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal took to shaping up at a
local gym. Apparently she was using the morning exercise session as a ruse to avoid the
heat and dust of elections on health grounds. But the Congress high command, nudged by her
critics in the state unit, has now directed her to burn some of her fat for Parneet Kaur,
wife of arch foe and PCC chief Amarinder Singh, who is contesting from Patiala.
Blessed Duo
Bhopal: Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and
Madhya Pradesh Congress General Secretary Manak Agarwal were very pleased to receive
personal blessings from Pope John Paul II recently. The man who brought the coveted papal
blessings signed by the pontiff is Bhopal Catholic priest Babu Joseph. But how did the
priest manage the letter from the Pope? Apparently, it was rather easy. In the Vatican
there is a section dealing with the pontiff's blessings. Anyone can pay a nominal fee and
apply for the blessings signed by the Pope himself. |
