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NEWSNOTES
CAPLOOKS
On Cloud
Nine
 Delhi:
If
someone ever decides to institute an award for best publicity management,
those handling Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's affairs
are sure to win hands down. Here's one reason why. Recently, while on
a Tokyo-bound flight from Delhi, his managers got the airline crew to
announce Naidu's presence on the plane. "The chief minister who rubs
shoulders with the likes of Bill Clinton and Bill Gates ..." was
how the crew introduced Naidu. Co-passengers got out their pens and pads
for autographs while some posed for photographs with Naidu. Next day's
Telugu dailies predictably carried stories on Naidu being mobbed moviestar-style.
Angling
for Power
Delhi:
It may be just a coincidence but in the next couple of months, the heads
of the country's three major intelligence/investigative agencies-the Intelligence
Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing and the CBI-will be retiring almost
simultaneously. Predictably, there's jostling and much heartburn among
the bureaucracy. Incumbents are angling for extensions and second-in-commands,
eyes on the top spot for long, are doing the rounds of the corridors of
power seeking intervention.
In Search
of an Ism
Delhi:
What
does BJP leader K. N. Govindacharya do now that he is no more the party
general secretary and presumably has much time on his hands? Following
his ouster as a BJP office bearer, he is busy studying an alternative
mode of development. As he says, a something that is not quite "state-ism"
(socialism) or "marketism" (capitalism). Those keen to know
more about this are advised to log on to www.govindacharya.com. That's
the website this proponent of swadeshi hopes to launch soon.
Cinderella
Effect
 Mumbai:
After a special screening of the new release Mission Kashmir in the Rashtrapati
Bhavan last week, one star was in a hurry to get back to Mumbai. Sanjay
Dutt had to fly back because the Mumbai Police has decreed that the accused
in a TADA case could not spend the night outside the city.
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 Delhi
Police Commissioner AJAY RAJ SHARMA has recently taken
a lot of flak for his force's high-handed ways.
Q.
You told your men to crack down on crime. But they are beating up
people on the streets.
A.
I
wanted to curb the rising incidence of crime and lawlessness. It
is possible that some policemen misinterpreted my directive.
Q.
But have your steps checked the crime graph?
A.
Except theft and molestation cases, the graphs of all other crimes
have fallen.
Q.
What are the reasons behind the police role in the four custodial
deaths in Delhi last week?
A.
Our constables are mostly from Delhi and nearby villages. They are
aggressive and get easily provoked.
Q.
Are you saying it is getting difficult to keep your men under check?
A.
Yes, the attitude of some of our personnel is problematic. We have
introduced programmes to change their approach. We are also taking
strong measures against all erring personnel.
Q.
What kind of measures are these?
A.
In the last nine months, we have initiated departmental inquiries
against 1,600 men and 107 have been suspended.
-K.
Sanjoya Singh
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INDIA TODAY Deputy Editor Swapan Dasgupta voices the despair of a community that Jyoti Basu forcibly converted into a diaspora in his 23 years of zero-contribution rule. 
