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 For a Place in the House
Delhi: Arun Jaitley and Ram Jethmalani
have more in common than the facts that they are both top-notch lawyers
and senior ministers in the Union Government. Both do not belong to
Parliament and must seek election to either House by April. Jethmalani,
who came into the Rajya Sabha, first via Karnataka and then through
Maharashtra, is now said to be cosying up to N. Chandrababu Naidu to bail
him out. As for Jaitley, the grapevine has it that he registered himself
as a voter within a week of taking over as information and broadcasting
minister in the Vajpayee Government. Where? Nobody knows and Jaitley is
not talking. Ask him and the stock reply is : "Why should I tell
you?" Such confidence can only come from one who takes his election
for granted.
Wild Tiger Chase
Calcutta: West Bengal Governor Viren Shah
likes to make his own rules. Sometime back, he sidestepped protocol to
attend a function at the Calcutta Club. Last week, he and his wife went to
the Sunderbans core area in an eight-boat convoy to catch a glimpse of the
Royal Bengal Tiger. The tiger,
unfortunately, doesn't play by Shah's rules. The governor had to remain
content seeing pugmarks -- despite the state Government spending Rs 75,000
for his trip.
Symbolic Ceremony
Chandigarh: Politics and religion make a
heady mix. A massive mandate in hand, Haryana's Jat chieftain Om Prakash
Chautala was quick to announce an NTR-style oath ceremony to mark his
fifth stint as chief minister. His first choice for the venue was Jind in
the state's heartland from where papa Devi Lal launched most of his
struggles. It was only later that he opted for Kurukshetra. Reason? It's
an "auspicious" place denoting the triumph of good over evil.
Indiscreet Son
Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav never draws a line between political differences and personal
ones. Son Akhilesh, the new MP from Kannauj, doesn't seem to have taken to
his ways. On his first day in the Lok Sabha last week, the 27-year-old
went up to the elders of the House -- including Home Minister L.K. Advani
and Congress President Sonia Gandhi -- and to papa's chagrin touched their
feet.
CONFESSIONAL
Among the most versatile of Indian actors, Kamal
Haasan, as filmmaker, has kicked up a controversy with his latest
production Hey Ram.
Has the agitation in Calcutta shocked you?
A. Yes. But Calcutta has responded in two ways to my film. While one
misguided section agitated against it, the West Bengal Government formally
invited me for a felicitation in April.
You said there were vested interests behind the agitation?
A. Absolutely. Some political parties were behind it. If at all there
was anything in my film against Gandhi, those who have a right to protest
are the Gandhians. But they have nothing against the film. Even the
Mahatma's grandson and other relatives have openly supported the film.
Is your film a tribute to Gandhi?
A. Yes. If Mark Antony's speech was a tribute to Julius Caesar.
Do you think the controversy is similar to that faced by Deepa Mehta
after Water?
A. No. But the suffering we both had to undergo was similar. Mehta's
film had international producers while mine was a fully Indian project.
However, I condemn the way the shooting of Mehta's film was disrupted.
-M.G. Radhakrishnan
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