Delhi:
If the President and the prime minister can have it, why not the vice-president?
Last month, the Union Health Ministry bought a swanky ambulance to follow
the cavalcade of Vice-President Krishan Kant. The Directorate-General
of Health Services bought the Tata 407 mini truck fitted with a Mercedes
engine and equipped with state-of-the-art medical paraphernalia. The cost:
Rs 47 lakh. All bureaucratic objections were overruled in the face of
demands from the VP's office. Hardly surprising considering that this
vice-president, unlike his predecessors, insists on chartered aircrafts
for tours within the country.
Chennai: The unceremonious dismissal of three ministers within a month of their taking office is keeping other members of the Jayalalitha Government on tenterhooks. No one knows whose head will be next on the chopping block. Ministers believe the only way they can be assured of their jobs is if Jayalalitha has a tiff with Governor Fathima Beevi. As it happened during her 1991-96 regime when she fell out with governor Chenna Reddy and did not go to him to effect any cabinet changes. Wishful thinking indeed.
Delhi: Ever since her aides suggested that she could use her week-long visit to the US to raise investments for the 11 Congress-ruled states, party President Sonia Gandhi has been working hard to acquire a pro-reforms image. Accompanying her are Manmohan Singh, Natwar Singh and Jairam Ramesh, while a senior leader from Mumbai is already in the US to organise Sonia's engagements. One person terribly disappointed is Ambika Soni, who loves to flaunt her proximity to Sonia. She has been asked to stay back.
HiThiruvananthapuram: As Kerala's chief minister, E.K. Nayanar hosted two of the most watched programmes on Malayalam satellite TV channels, including the hugely popular Ask the Chief Minister. So why is the CPI(M)-owned Kairali TV running Phone In With Nayanar now? Maybe it realises that, in office or outside, nobody presents a better comedy show than the ex-cm.
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