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 'Free'
Economy
Delhi: What happens when Manmohan Singh
sulks? Fellow Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha fret and fume. Singh has
been taking little interest in his job as leader of the Opposition in the
Upper House ever since his own partymen hit out at the reforms programme
he initiated. As a result, Congress members from the Rajya Sabha are
missing out on a lot of goodies and freebies, among them a recent
parliamentary junket to Rio de Janeiro for the World Tourism Conference.
But last week there was good news when the Congress high command reversed
its decision to set up a panel to review Manmohan's economic policies.
That should cheer up the good doctor, not to speak of junket-crazy
Congressmen.
The Ex Files
Mumbai: There was a flurry of activity in the
state secretariat last week. The reason: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister
Chhagan Bhujbal had summoned all section heads in the home and general
administration departments and ordered them to fish out some files that
pertained to the "misdeeds" of his bete noire Bal Thackeray
during the Sena-BJP rule in the state. Needless to say, Thackeray had
ensured that the files went "missing" before the saffron
coalition government bowed out. The search has now been called off.
Transfer Truce
Delhi: The departure in quick succession
of two people close to President K.R. Narayanan may augur well for the BJP-led
Government. Senior officials in the Government attribute the frosty ties
between Rashtrapati Bhavan and Race Course Road to Narayanan's secretary
Gopal Gandhi and his daughter Chitra Narayanan, an IFS officer. When the
President suggested their names for ambassadors' posts in Colombo and
Stockholm, the Government readily agreed. Now what? Narayanan-Vajpayee
bhai bhai?
Poll Fault
Lucknow: Civil servants in Uttar Pradesh are
up in arms over the whimsical transfer policy of the Ram Prakash Gupta
regime. So they petitioned the chief minister. His retort: "Transfers
are made according to the wishes of political workers. That is
democracy." At least, democracy, Ulta Pradesh style.
CONFESSIONAL
The good news for KALYAN
SINGH last week was that his party won an
election. The better news for him is that the BJP came last.
Isn't it the caste factor that ensured victory?
A. No, the people wanted to avenge the humiliation of my expulsion
from the BJP. This is their way of doing it.
But BJP leaders say they lost in Soro because of the low turnout?
A. They can say anything. The fact is, people have rejected them.
People are fed up with the existing parties. They want change and that is
why they voted for the Rashtriya Kranti Party.
After earlier setbacks, you were written off.
A. I am a mass leader and cannot be written off by anyone. Ultimately,
it is for the people to decide.
Will your victory have any impact on the BJP Government in Lucknow?
A. I wish the Gupta Government lasts for sometime. It suits us since
by the time of the next assembly elections, the BJP will be ready for
burial.
Your future plans?
A. To contest all 425 seats in Uttar Pradesh and ensure the BJP's
defeat
- Subhash Mishra
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