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CAPLOOKS
Primal
Fears
 Delhi:
The presence of the "Monkey Man", who terrorised large parts
of east Delhi recently, was felt at the most unlikely of places last week-the
chief ministers' meeting convened by the Centre to discuss the recommendations
of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal likened the WTO to the capital's mysterious Monkey Man. "We
in Punjab are as afraid of the WTO as the people in Delhi are of the Monkey
Man," he said in his inimitable style. Even Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who presided over the meeting, could not help guffawing.
Boisterous Party
Lucknow: The goings on in the ruling
BJP in Uttar Pradesh suggest there is little need for an opposition in
the state. And Chief Minister Rajnath Singh appears to be a helpless head
of government. Take last week: state ministers and bureaucrats accused
each other of unbridled corruption; cabinet ministers openly attacked
the chief minister; and senior ministers battled each other publicly and
on the floor of the House. The man who was sent to set right the party
in the state is believed to be longing to return to Delhi.
How The Press Was Won
Chandigarh: His political opponents in
Haryana might be at the receiving end, but Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala
is bending backwards to keep the press in good humour. Out to cultivate
a "press friendly" image, the Jat chieftain has recently been
at his "pr best". Patting himself for his Rs 1-lakh insurance
scheme for the pen-pushers, Chautala has now assured them of the implementation
of the new wage board recommendations. How long this good patch in his
love-hate equation with the media lasts is anybody's guess.
 Masters
Of Ceremony
Chennai: AIADMK factotums are known to
prostrate themselves before Jayalalitha Jayaram. So why didn't they do
it after she won the recent polls? Apparently, there were "standing
instructions" not to bend before Amma, at least in public. But the
moment the media moved out, newly sworn in ministers paid obeisance in
the only way they know.
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