Ethnic Touch
Delhi:
Congress President Sonia Gandhi likes to put her stamp on anything she
does. She has now turned to the decor of her Parliament House office which
is being done up at a considerable cost. Sonia's focus is on the ethnic,
the flooring being of mat while a Kashmiri carpet adorns one wall. As for
the furniture, she insisted on the Chippendale her mother-in-law used in
her parliamentary office. The chairs, however, are untraceable in the
storeroom of Parliament. Now an entire set of imitation English period
chairs has been ordered to give an "Indira touch" to the room.
The Congress' strength as an opposition party may have been decimated, but
its leader's office will surely look glamorous.
Nodding Acquaintance
Lucknow:
Uttar Pradesh's Shivendra Singh had an unenviable portfolio: minister
attached to the CM. Last week, at the end of a prolonged grievance
redressal meeting, Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta noticed someone
following him. Gupta, who fails to recognise half his cabinet, asked the
man: "You have been tailing me since morning, what is your
problem?" Nothing except my portfolio, said an aghast Singh. He got a
new portfolio the next day.
Running Late
Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's new year resolution
wasn't quite radical. His image being that of a habitual late-comer to all
functions Naidu resolved to be punctual in 2000. On January 3, he was to
flag off the inaugural run of the Janmabhoomi Express from Visakhapatnam
at 6.20 a.m. But since he couldn't make it there on time, the flag-off was
delayed by three hours. Of course, the train's timing remains unchanged.
Wrong Causes
Ahmedabad:
Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel is eager to project a liberal
image. So last week he sent a congratulatory message to Miss World Yukta
Mookhey, forgetting that the RSS is dead against shows that parade the
female body. Next, in a bid to curry favour with local Muslims, Patel
requested the National Haj Committee to increase Gujarat's quota of
pilgrims, forgetting the BJP's opposition to minority appeasement. No
wonder, of late state RSS bigwigs aren't too happy with Patel.
TREMORS
Anna Hazare: Maharashtra's
anti-corruption crusader refuses to back down on his demand for the right
to information. Has threatened a stir after his May 31 deadline.
G.R.Khairnar:
Mumbai's first demolition man had rattled bigwigs with his drive against
illegal structures. Fell foul of politicians, was suspended and since
lying low.
T.N.Seshan:
The former CEC was the wrong man for the right causes. His fans vanished
into thin air on finding he ran his trust from conman Romesh Sharma's
house.
Mohan Guruswamy:
After his fracas with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, he had promised to
open a can of worms. But it seems like he hasn't found the opener yet.
CONFESSIONAL
Rajasthan's
Pradyuman Singh holds two portfolios -- home and industries. But his
opponents say he cannot handle even one.
December saw a spurt in gruesome
crimes in Rajasthan. Is the law and order machinery failing?
December has been an unfortunate exception. Otherwise the number of
heinous crimes in the first 11 months had dropped slightly.
Your police seems unable to prevent
the spurt in crime.
The Human Rights Commission and the courts are watching. So the police
have to be careful. By arresting the accused, the police instil fear in
the minds of criminals.
Your critics say you cannot handle two
important portfolios.
Many ministers have far more portfolios than I have. I never leave a file
pending on my table before calling it a day.
Are you satisfied with your police
department?
We have far less crime compared to Delhi which has a 60,000-strong
force. Rajasthan is five times Delhi's size, yet it has only 68,000
policemen.
So is it a certificate of excellence
for your men?
No, but I am satisfied. Crimes take place in the US too, but the
police solves them. So do we.
-Rohit
Parihar
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