Novel Plots
Delhi: Former prime minister P.V. Narasimha
Rao is not exactly idle. After the Congress' election rout, factional leaders in the party
urged him to come out of his self-imposed hibernation and attack the current leadership.
So far, he has refused to bite the bait. His first effort at fiction may not have made the
list, but he penned another novel, this time in Telugu, recounting his experiences as a
Congressman in Andhra Pradesh. But Rao hasn't exactly washed his hands off politics. After
the Congress plummeted to its lowest ever tally in the recent polls, he sent
congratulatory notes to some partymen who managed to win. Among them was Rajesh Pilot, the
eternal dissident-in-waiting. An emerging new axis perhaps? Uneasy Partners
Delhi: When friends-turned-foes decide to hold hands again, the consequences are
sometimes embarrassing. Which is what happened to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao
Deshmukh in the capital last week when he hosted a party and invited, among others, his
party chief Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, whose NCP shares power with the Congress in
Mumbai. If there is a new-found cordiality between the two parties, the attitude of their
leaders did not reflect it. Realising Pawar was also an invitee, Sonia decided to stay
away. Pawar too stuck to protocol: if the president of the Congress boycotts the party, so
will the president of the NCP. Leading one Congressman to quip: "It's a bit like
India and Pakistan. The people get along well. It's the leaders who create problems."
Higher Stakes
Delhi: After losing narrowly to Sonia in
Bellary, Sushma Swaraj has realised that renunciation is the best way up the political
ladder. She was offered general secretaryship of the BJP. She refused. Ditto for the
spokesperson's post. Her public line is: "I will serve the party whenever they ask
but accept no post." The real story is that Sushma is still miffed at not being
offered a cabinet post -- which she would then have had the pleasure of refusing. There is
speculation in the party that Sushma, one of the BJP's star campaigners, is playing for
higher stakes -- perhaps even the presidentship of the party.
Role Models
Bangalore: When S.M. Krishna, Karnataka chief
minister, says he wants to be a model CM, don't take him literally. What he means is that
he wants to model his government after his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Digvijay Singh's,
particularly in the Panchayati Raj area. Another role model for him is Andhra Pradesh's N.
Chandrababu Naidu. Like Naidu, Krishna has plans to go hi-tech. Last week he acquired a
laptop and has plans to wire the entire administration.
CONFESSIONAL
SHARAD PAWAR: NCP leader, ran a bitter poll campaign
against the Congress. A hung assembly has seen him join hands with Sonia Gandhi's party to
keep the BJP-Sena out.
How long will the Congress-NCP coalition Government
last?
In the interest of the state it should complete its term. But look how the Congress
has broken the understanding on a compact cabinet -- 61 ministers at a time when the
state's economy is reeling. Unless it relents on this I don't see how this can continue.
Don't you feel odd that you split from the Congress
and then went back to form a coalition government with the party?
Our objection was to a foreigner leading the country. People of foreign origin must
be kept out of important constitutional positions. That issue remains.
Yet Sonia won from two constituencies.
Winning elections doesn't mean that people have accepted her to lead the nation.
The fact that the Congress has come down to 112 seats indicates that the issue that we
raised remains very much relevant.
Are you amenable to the idea of cooperating with
Sonia in her role as the leader of the Opposition?
Our approach will depend on issue to issue. Besides, nobody has suggested this to
us as yet.
Some feel that if the Congress had not split it
could have formed the government.
There are no two opinions about that. In Maharashtra alone we would have got 40-45
seats.
Do you then regret the split? Could there be a
rapprochement?
The question does not arise. The issue that we raised remains. The Congress too has
made its choice. So where is the question of rapprochement?
-Javed
M. Ansari |
