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Media
Quota Delhi:
The Women's Reservation Bill may have been scuttled for the time being, but the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO) is not relenting in its bid to secure affirmative action. When
confronted with the list of journalists who are to accompany Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his
first foreign trip to the SAARC summit in Colombo, the prime minister's former political
adviser Pramod Mahajan threw a fit. "So few women?" he asked. "What sort of
impression will this convey?" Mahajan's way out was simple: make sure that at least
25 per cent of the media party is women. Of course, it's one thing for the PMO to be seen
to be championing women's representation, it's a different matter how media organisations
react to the news that they are bound by a new reservation policy.
Official Honeymoon
Bangalore: When
Bangalore Deputy Mayor Vasudevamurthy married last month, one of the presents he received
was a free trip to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. Not a lucky dip or
anything like that. It was just Mayor Huchappa's way of giving him a honeymoon treat: the
invitation Huchappa received for a major conference was in turn passed on to
Vasudevamurthy. But before the deputy mayor thinks of the happy time ahead, there's one
minor hitch: BJP legislator Suresh Kumar has strongly protested against the Rs 11 lakh
foreign jaunt, saying it will be a big burden on the city corporation's delicate finances.
Blame it on Badal
Chandigarh: For
his formal taking-over ceremony on July 12, new Punjab PCC chief Amarinder Singh chose his
friend and political benefactor Rajesh Pilot as the chief guest. Ferried from Delhi in a
private plane, courtesy his host, Pilot, however, did not anticipate the turbulence on the
ground. Before the Congress leader could address the large gathering, a heavy downpour
sent the crowds scurrying for cover. While some blamed it, light-heartedly, on (Chief
Minister Parkash Singh) Badal (meaning clouds), Pilot and Co. quickly wound up their
speeches to escape the chaos and humidity at the Congress Bhavan. Sweating profusely, they
headed straight for former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal's residence, right next to
that of Badal's, hoping to grab a bite in air-conditioned environs. But a power failure in
the VIP sector again played spoilsport, leaving a harried Pilot wondering about the Badal
connection in his weather woes.
Drain Inspector
Hyderabad: Perhaps
inspired by what Lee Kuan Yew did to sanitise Singapore, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu
Naidu has adopted a new broom-and-stick policy. Though he is still far from slapping fines
on litter bugs, Naidu is obsessed with civic inspections, often pulling up officials for
sanitary lapses. Recently, Naidu, on a complaint from local residents, let go at the
officials of Srikakulam town. "I will drown you both in these filthy drains if they
are not clean when I come here again," he told the shocked municipal council chairman
and an embarrassed commissioner. Though some were amused by the intemperate remarks, the
two stood silent, like others often do when caught in Naidu's firing line.
Cielos in Times of Cyclone
Ahmedabad: In
the early '90s, when the Congress' Chimanbhai Patel cleared a proposal for buying Contessa
cars for his ministers, the opposition BJP had kicked up a ruckus on the "wasteful
expenditure". Almost six years later, the BJP appears to have swallowed its own
words. Even as the Keshubhai Patel Government is begging for aid from the Centre and the
public at large to meet the losses caused by the recent cyclone, it has placed an order
worth Rs 1.35 crore for Cielo cars for its 30-member ministry. The reason: the over-aged
Contessa cars need to be replaced, though insiders in the Government say that most of them
are still in working order. Clearly, it's a mix-up of the BJP's slogan of "simple
living and high thinking".
Communal Colours
Bangalore: Going
by past record, flags seem to be the root cause of communal riots in Karnataka. Two years
after the Janata Dal Government solved the issue of hoisting the national tricolour at the
Idgah Maidan in Hubli, violence again flared up between Hindus and Muslims over flags in
Bangalore on July 12. This time it was over the pride of place given to a Muslim (green)
flag over a Kannada (red and yellow) flag on Id-Milad at Venkateshpuram, an area dominated
by Muslims.
A 60-year-old man was stabbed to death and several others were injured when the issue took
a communal turn. As usual the police were slow to defuse the tension. "Everyone knew
that the flag issue had the potential to explode but the police kept quiet," says
Arif Ahmed, a member of the peace committee in Venkateshpuram. The area's Hindu Jagran
unit had even alerted the police commissioner about a possible riot. But thanks to
bureaucratic tape, the letter reached the commissioner a day after the damage had already
been done.
A Blow to Harmony
Calcutta: When
the Calcutta High Court recently passed an order banning "azaan" announcements,
environmentalists were naturally cock-a-hoop. After all, Calcutta was the first metropolis
in the country to experience "quiet" Diwalis since 1996 thanks to judicial
intervention. However, their joy is likely to be short-lived, for Trinamool Congress
leader Mamata Banerjee has threatened to fight the order "with blood". Observers
feel that Mamata may have gained the support of Muslims but has not done any good to West
Bengal's communal harmony.
The Party Order
Thiruvananthapuram: Being
a cadre-based party, the CPI(M) is supposed to be disciplined. But like so many other
national political organisations, flare-ups are common in it too. Last week, a
six-year-old factional war in the Kerala unit of the party turned dramatic: the State
Committee initiated disciplinary action against eight top leaders, including Central
Committee members K.N. Raveendranath and M.M. Lawrence, for "anti-party
activities". An enquiry committee which found the eight guilty of circulating
pamphlets critical of the state leadership was used to enforce "discipline". But
the real issue was a tussle for leadership between the CITU lobby -- to which the eight
belong -- and the faction led by V.S. Achuthanandan, politburo member and ldf convener.
Ever since the CITU group lost the State Committee elections in January, Achuthanandan and
his supporters had been vowing revenge. Therefore, the outcome of the party Central
Committee meeting in Delhi on July 16 is crucial: the fate of Raveendranath and Lawrence
and the possibility of the Kerala unit splitting for the third time depend on it.
Loaded Attack
Bhubaneswar: When
Mohini Giri, the daughter of former President V.V. Giri and chairperson of the National
Commission for Women, landed in Orissa last week for a brief visit, her intention was to
help the state's beleaguered women. But one off-the-cuff remark and the champion of
women's rights found herself in a spot instead. All hell broke loose in the state when
Giri was quoted by the media as saying that "at least half of those staying in
working women's hostels in Orissa are engaged in prostitution for earning extra
money". Outraged by the sweeping statement, members of the Orissa Assembly kicked up
a ruckus with a state minister even demanding Giri's immediate arrest. Chief Minister
Janaki Ballav Patnaik admitted that the Government had thought about filing a defamation
suit against her for denigrating women. Stumped by the reaction, Giri took the easy way
out by claiming that she had been misquoted. She saved her skin but the fracas helped
neither Giri nor the cause of women.
A Slow March to Democracy
Thimpu: King
Jigme Singhye Wangchuk of Bhutan is widely regarded as one of the last benevolent despots
in the world. Over the past decade and more he has been stoutly defending his policy to
insulate his subjects from the modern world while gradually introducing administrative
reforms. This month he moved his tiny Himalayan kingdom closer to the democratic trail by
retiring key ministers and asking the country's National Assembly (the parliament) to
elect new ones -- albeit nominated by him. He also issued a royal edict (Kasho) which
makes his own position dependent on parliament's vote of confidence, with a rider that the
crown prince would succeed him in the event of parliament forcing his abdication by a
two-thirds majority. Observers feel this is the first step in a long plan to gradually
reduce the Crown's powers. But, by a national quirk, the Bhutanese people refuse to accept
the king abdicating his responsibilities. "We are shocked by the edict because our
society is comfortable with the monarchy," says a senior minister. "We certainly
don't want democracy as experienced by our neighbouring countries." The allusion is
apparently to "Big Brother" India which is deeply interested in the king's line
of thought. Foreign Secretary K. Raghunath's recent visit to Thimpu is widely perceived as
arising from Delhi's urgency to take stock. |
