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 Prickly
Crusade
Delhi: The cause nearest to the heart of
BJP MP from Mumbai Kirit Somaiya is that of the ordinary investor. Somaiya
is now in a spot within his party for having initiated a debate in the
budget session of the Lok Sabha on Foreign Institutional Investor (FII)
beneficiaries of the Indo-Mauritius double tax-avoidance treaty. It was a
time-bomb which burst in the face of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha,
father-in-law of the portfolio manager of one of the beneficiary FIIs.
Somaiya has reportedly been taken to task by the party for his
overzealousness, but an NGO that he heads is pressing on with the crusade
against the controversial treaty.
Falling in Line
Bhubaneswar: Till recently, Dilip Ray was a
high-flying Central minister. Now that he has been unceremoniously dropped
at the behest of Biju Janata Dal chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik, he is grovelling. Initially, he spat fire and accused Patnaik of
being insecure. But a terse reminder that files relating to old vigilance
cases against him were still in the possession of the chief minister and
might be opened once again, was all that was needed to make him behave.
Says he: "Who can challenge Naveen ?" Not Ray, anyway.
Word Power
Delhi: Congressmen flaunt various assets
to get close to party chief Sonia Gandhi. In Madhavrao Scindia's case, it
is his command over English that has impressed Madam. Recently, AICC
General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad was asked to carry a draft to Scindia
for vetting. Naturally, this has left most partymen, who can just about
manage pidgin, sulking. Besides, some wryly suggest that if English was
the criterion, then Mani Shankar Aiyar would be more preferable. At least,
he doesn't need ghost writers.
Role Reversal
Patna: Rabri Devi's victory from Raghopur was
no surprise. What was surprising was the margin -- higher than Laloo's in
the last election. Enough for hubby to start feeling insecure. "At
this rate, she will become more popular than me and soon I may just be
known as Rabri's husband." Or Mr Rabri Devi.
CONFESSIONAL
Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to step in to ensure that former Congress
president Sitaram Kesri had a roof over his
head In Delhi.
Q. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
is said to have played a key role to ensure that you were not moved out of
your house.
A. I received it when I least expected it. I am 84 years old now. I was
planning to shift back to my family home in Danapur in Bihar. As for the
government gesture, all I can say is I appreciate it a lot.
Q. The Congress is claiming credit, saying it had pressured the
Government to allow you to stay.
A. Please do not make my house a controversy. Everyone has helped me in
the matter.
Q. How do you view the government's decision to honour you as a freedom
fighter?
A. I suppose they have been very generous.
Q. Do you feel the Congress does not care for you enough? After all,
you served the party for over six decades.
A. No, I don't think so. Whatever I am, I owe to the party. I have been a
Seva Dal worker as well as the Congress president.
-Lakshmi Iyer
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