 Via
Media
Delhi: Ram Vilas Paswan is a great vote
catcher. But if there is one constituency that he has not been able to win
over, it is the media. By and large, the press remains hostile to him.
During his earlier stint as Union railway minister, he was often pilloried
for the extra attention he paid to his constituency of Hajipur while
unveiling expansion plans for the Railways. As the Union minister for
communications, his decision to give free phone connections to three lakh
employees of the Department of Telecommunications has been savaged by the
press. Now he has found a new way to tame the press: by doling out
goodies. In an obvious bid to blunt some of the attack, he recently
nominated several journalists to the newly constituted Telephone Advisory
Committee. Many of the hacks, veterans on the Third Front beat, know
Paswan from his days as a minister in the National Front and the United
Front governments.
SPG Specially Protected Garu
Hyderabad: To say that N. Chandrababu Naidu
is gizmo-happy is like saying that the Pope is a Catholic. The Andhra
Pradesh chief minister is forever on the lookout for new gadgets.
Obviously not satisfied with the mobile electronic jammer that moves ahead
of his bullet-proof car, Naidu's latest fancy is a hands- free voice
activated wireless network. Such sophisticated systems are provided only
as part of the security cover for the prime minister. Enough for fawning
admirers to claim that Naidu is actually preparing for the job in New
Delhi.
Let There Be Light
Bhopal: Politicians and bureaucrats in
the Madhya Pradesh capital have one thing in common -- they love moving
around in vehicles with red lights flashing. Problem is, many of the
current red light "flashers" are not eligible for the status
symbol on their car hoods. A list of unauthorised users compiled recently
by the Bhopal Police includes an additional secretary, senior IAS
officers, two DGPs, the Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, not to speak of a
minister. The Digvijay Singh Government, of course, looks the other way.
Dress Code
Delhi: BSP leader Mayawati and Samajwadi
Party's Phoolan Devi share a penchant for shopping. In New York for the
United Nation's Conference on Women recently they made the most of it.
Mayawati picked up enough salwar kameezes to fill a wardrobe while Phoolan
just flipped for ultra-light American quilts.
CONFESSIONAL
Though back to being a regional chieftain, Nationalist Congress Party
President SHARAD PAWAR feels there is reason to celebrate.
Q. It's a year since you left the
Congress and floated the NCP. Are you happy the way things worked out?
A. I didn't leave the Congress, I was
expelled. In a year, we were able to get 85 MLAs and eight MPs. We have
the status of a national party when even the CPI(M) is losing that
ranking.
Q. People pinned much hopes on the NCP
but it didn't enthuse your old friends in the Congress.
A. The Congress is a power-oriented
party. We never tried to woo Congressmen. They sent feelers but we've been
cool.
Q. Will there be an open revolt against
Sonia?
A. Discontent will be there but nobody
will dislodge her. Nobody can defeat the Congress president. Even I lost
miserably to a man like Sitaram Kesri.
Q. Are you happy outside the Congress?
A.I am very happy. I don't have to worry
constantly about the High Command.
-Lakshmi
Iyer
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