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 Guess
Who's Closer
Delhi: As Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee packed his bags to visit India's commercial capital for the 125th
anniversary function of the Bombay Stock Exchange, a quiet but persistent
turf war was playing itself out in his own little backyard. Pramod Mahajan,
IT minister, Vajpayee's self-appointed troubleshooter and perhaps the most
influential Mumbaikar in Delhi, had succeeded in ensuring that Finance
Minister Yashwant Sinha was kept off the list of dignitaries attending the
Dalal Street big bash. The reason? Mahajan wanted to dominate the show in
his home town. Sinha went into an almighty sulk and it took some
persuasion from Vajpayee to make him change his mind. Eventually FM and PM
travelled together; and the old economy taught the new one a few tricks.
Shadowy Schemes
Chandigarh: The shadow cabinet is an
alternative watchdog, semi-institutionalised in the British parliamentary
system. It is a largely unknown idea in India. So when Bhajan Lal, chief
of the Congress in the Haryana Assembly, set up a shadow cabinet
comprising choicest cronies, Haryanvi political science circles, such as
they are, were agog. More than keep the Government on its toes, Bhajan was
only trying to pre-empt rival B.S. Hooda, state Congress president and
Sonia favourite. Oh, the pleasures of shadow boxing.
Twice Born
Delhi: In a Mandalised age, where every
politician with an upper caste surname is doing his best to hide it, Kirti
Azad, former cricketer and now MP from Darbhanga, has resorted to reverse
swing. He has prefixed his neutral -- literally, since Azad means free --
surname with the family title of Jha. He's making sure nobody is left in
doubt about his Mithila Brahmin lineage nor his inheritance of the
political legacy of his father, one-time Bihar chief minister Bhagwat Jha
Azad. Maybe Kirti Jha Azad has aspirations to his father's old job.
Call Me Feeble
Bangalore: This past week, Ram Vilas Paswan
hosted 50 MPs -- members of the consultative committee to his
communications ministry -- and their families at a five star hotel in
Bangalore. Also on the itinerary were trips to Mysore's Brindavan Gardens
and the Nagerhole Game Sanctuary. The official reason for this Rs 3 crore
waste: a three-hour meeting to discuss wireless in local loop technology.
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Mirwaiz Omar Farooq of the Hurriyat
Conference says the group will talk to the Centre under certain
conditions.
Q. Hasn't the rejection of autonomy by
New Delhi ruled out any meaningful talks with the Hurriyat?
A. We have our own agenda. For us, autonomy is a non-issue.
Q. But the Centre would not go beyond
autonomy for any internal settlement on Kashmir.
A. The talks have to be on the future of Kashmir.
Q. But one section wants azadi and
another wants merger with Pakistan.
A. There may be different ideological shades, but there is a common
ground among the Hurriyat constituents. All of us are for a negotiated
settlement. From our side there is no hardline approach to the solution.
Q. The Indian Government is averse to
including Pakistan in talks.
A. The alternative is a triangular approach which facilitates Hurriyat-Delhi,
Hurriyat-Pakistan and Pakistan-India dialogues. But they have to start
with the premise that Pakistan would be party to the final settlement on
Kashmir.
-Ramesh
Vinayak
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