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 What the Deuce!
Delhi:
Finance Minister
Yashwant Sinha is strong favourite, or shall we say, top
seed for the post of president of the All India Tennis
Association (AITA). In April, his name was proposed for
the job in Indian tennis, and as there were no objections
to his candidature, he should get the job when the AITA's
annual meeting takes place in Indore in September. The
finance minister takes over from chartered accountant R.K.
Khanna who ruled over the AITA for the past eight years.
A few years ago, a powerful IAS lobby tried to prop up
then finance minister P. Chidambaram in an effort to oust
Khanna. Now with the Davis Cuppers thrashed 5-0 by Sweden
and Paes and Bhupathi not on talking terms, Sinha will
have to get sharp on that first serve. On The
Write Track
Chandigarh:
Despite his penchant
for snubbing journalists occasionally, Haryana Chief
Minister Om Prakash Chautala knows it pays to keep the
corps of hacks in good humour. Last week, as his
government marked its first year in office, Chautala was
quite liberal in releasing advertising supplements to
newspapers, besides hosting a sumptuous feast for the
journos. But the real bonanza came later -- a group
insurance cover for journalists. Presumably, he had in
mind the occupational hazards of a journalist covering
Haryana.
Family
Quarrel
Delhi:
Infighting in the
Congress has now reached the party chief's inner circle
as well. An anonymous letter, believed to have emanated
from people close to V. George, Sonia's secretary, dubs
Satish Sharma, the former Rajiv aide, as the "most
corrupt politician in India". The George-Sharma feud
has cast its shadow on Sonia's secretariat as well. When
the house of S.V. Pillai, Sonia's additional secretary
was recently ransacked, police came knocking on the doors
of P.P. Madhavan, a 10 Janpath officer who is close to
Sharma.
Baby
Bloomer
Delhi:
While chief
ministers from all states arrived in Delhi last week for
the meeting of the National Commission on Population
Control, there was a notable absentee: Bihar's Rabri Devi.
One possible reason: at a state-level population control
meeting recently, when she waxed eloquent on the merits
of a small family, an opposition MLA is said to have
chastised the mother of nine.
| CONFESSIONAL\ |
| His four earlier terms totalled
just seven months. Finally, Om Prakash
Chautala completes a year as Haryana CM.
Q.
The BJP is your ally in Delhi and in the state.
But they criticise you more than even the
Congress.
A. The BJP in Haryana is getting
overambitious. It is targeting us it wants to be
the No. 1 party. We will deliver the goods and
convince them that what the BJP is saying is all
bakwaas.
Q. Will
you complain to the BJP central leaders?
A. Why should | tell them? They should
realise what their people are doing. After all, I
am obliging the BJP.
Q. You
support the NDA Government. What have you got in
return?
A. We are not here to bargain. At the
same time, we have got nothing. Vajpayee goes to
Shimla and hands out several sops but skips
Haryana. It is discrimination such as this that
fuels demands for autonomy.
Q. Will
you then put pressure on the Centre?
A. I think I need to be more assertive
like Chandrababu Naidu. But I am not going to
exploit Vajpayee's political compulsions and play
the destabilising game.
-Ramesh Vinayak
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