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NEWSNOTES
CAPLOOKS
Bun of
Contention
 Delhi:
Towards the end of Parliament's monsoon session, MPs, particularly those
from the Congress, were surprised to find a new-look Sonia Gandhi. It
was her hairstyle that gave the Congress president a different appearance.
She had tied her hair in a chignon, a French-style bun. Party members
had all along seen Sonia with her hair tied in a pony tail. Naturally
the bun prompted varied reactions with some male MPs insisting it made
her look more sombre than she normally did. Others said the French bun
made her look more elegant. While the men debated, there seemed to be
a cross-party consensus among lady parliamentarians to find out the identity
of Sonia's hairstylist. Last heard, the search was still on.
Plane
Lucky
Bangalore: The Veerappan mania has gripped
the Karnataka Government so much that almost everybody plans meetings
keeping him in mind. Chief Minister S.M. Krishna knows his Tamil Nadu
counterpart could call anytime and off he'd have to fly to Chennai. Krishna
is lucky to have as friends some of the rich and influential people in
Bangalore. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, for one. He owns three jets and
it is these planes that Krishna chooses over the sole state government
chopper to fly to Chennai to meet M. Karunanidhi.
Courting
the Pennies
Chandigarh: Bansi Lal, the former Haryana
chief minister, has fallen on hard days, both politically and financially.
Reduced to a bystander in state politics as head of the Haryana Vikas
Party, Lal is now fighting a legal battle against the Om Prakash Chautala
regime. But this skirmish is not about recapturing power. It's just to
claim some money. After his government was toppled last year, Lal served
for four months as leader of the Opposition. Last week he moved the courts,
seeking pending salary and perks-a few thousand rupees.
Ignorance
is Bliss
 Nagpur:
While alighting from a Mercedes Benz during the BJP's Nagpur session last
week, party General Secretary K.N. Govindacharya was taunted for using
a videshi vehicle. The RSS pracharak, among the leading
lights of the swadeshi brigade, feigned ignorance about the Merc's origins
and asked, "Is it foreign? I didn't know that."
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 Tamil
Maanila Congress (TMC) General Secretary Peter Alphonse on
why coalition rule is a must in Tamil Nadu.
Q.
How will the TMC-AIADMK alliance continue given the two parties'
contradictory stand on coalitions?
A. Right now, the TMC is not a part of any alliance. We just
have a common programme of action. We share a common platform with
the Left and secular parties to thwart the designs of communal parties.
Q. Is it possible to align with the AIADMK after this?
A. Alliances will only be decided on eve of assembly polls due
in eight months. There is no urgency now.
Q. Why did the AIADMK make contrary comments?
A. I can't comment on another party's decision. The AIADMK has
the right to do so.
Q. But the announcement was made in the presence of G.K. Moopanar.
In that sense, wasn't it a snub?
A. I cannot comment on that.
Q. P. Chidambaram did not attend the executive meeting. Is it
because of internal bickering?
A. No. Chidambaram had expressed his inability to attend. We
can't take offence to his absence at the meeting.
Q. How's the mood in the party?
A. Upbeat. We're ready for the polls.
-Kavitha
Muralidharan
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