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 Shorts
Circuit
Delhi: Till recently, the India International
Centre (IIC), Delhi's favourite intellectual watering hole, was a place
where catching up on "current affairs" meant discussing the
Korean War with fellow geriatrics. Now the whippersnappers are striking
back with a vengeance and giving the place a trendy appearance, much to
the management's annoyance. A few weeks ago, an
advertising-baron-cum-party-animal walked into the IIC lounge in shorts.
Eyebrows were raised but not voices; and a fashion statement was made. In
the following days, shorts became the norm at the IIC and, finally,
I&B Minister Arun Jaitley landed up in them as well. That really was
the limit. A day later, the IIC burra sahibs put up a notice banning all
over-casually dressed individuals from the lounge. At the IIC, people
aren't on a short fuse as much as a shorts fuse.
Sweat Factor
Patna: In the Bihar capital, like in many
parts of the country, power cuts are the rule rather than the exception.
Little wonder that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Yadav lost his cool at
a function last week. The air conditioners were down and like everyone
else in the packed S.K. Memorial Hall, Laloo was sweating it out. "If
there is no power, refund the money to the organisers," he thundered.
He would have none of it even when told that power to the hall had been
cut due to non-payment of electricity bills.
Funding Feuds
Delhi: AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel is a
harassed man these days. His control over the party purse strings has
become tenuous. For example, despite the Congress running governments in
eight states, the party coffers that Patel manages are empty. Reason:
Congress chief ministers are handing in their contributions directly to 10
Janpath. Unaware of such direct payments, Patel has been asking AICC
general secretaries to tap chief ministers for funds. They, however,
reportedly throw up their hands.
Tee for Teller
Bangalore: What was Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah doing in Bangalore last week? Nothing more
important than the inauguration of a branch of the J&K Bank. That
done, he rushed off with friend and Karnataka Haj Minister Roshan Baig to
Bidadi on the city's outskirts to -- what else -- play golf.
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Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is on a clean-up drive in the state
capital. No wonder, he is called Jaipur's Jagmohan.
Q. Why the sudden drive against
encroachments?
A. We cannot have good governance without the rule of law. I have to
ensure that Jaipur does not turn into an ugly place.
Q. Can you carry your clean-up
campaign to other parts of the state? There could be violence.
A. I had called the Rapid Action Force to ensure that government
agencies were not prevented from doing their job. In many cases, the
violators realised we meant business and even cooperated.
Q. How important are such
administrative actions for the state?
A. Every city in Rajasthan has got its own character and I want to
preserve that. The millions of tourists who come to Rajasthan should not
have to worry about hygiene and safety.
Q. Your clean-up campaign will
obviously involve a lot of money.
A. Resources are a constraint, but I am not averse to imposing taxes
if people can be assured a better quality of life.
-Rohit
Parihar
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