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Nobody's
State Delhi: The honchos were all there -- from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to
Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to sundry bureaucrats -- exhorting NRI investors to help
set up industries in their home country. The response to the Global Indian Entrepreneurs'
Conference held in Delhi recently was encouraging. While Andhra Pradesh, expectedly, was
the cynosure, it was Orissa which evinced a lot of interest. But one state seemed to have
no takers. In a room at Vigyan Bhavan, Bihar officials sat idly, waiting for investors to
approach them. But not one NRI turned up. The delegation leader had a ready, if lame,
explanation for this embarrassing situation: "What can we do? The press has given us
such a bad name that no one even bothers to think of Bihar!"
Club-friendly
Jaipur: On a visit to the Pink City Press Club recently, Chief Election Commissioner
M.S. Gill noticed the renovation work in progress there and regretted the sorry state of
press clubs, including the Press Club of India in Delhi. He even suggested the Rajasthan
Government spend about Rs 20-25 lakh on the Jaipur club. As for the ideal press club, Gill
voted for the Chandigarh facility which has a romantic bar, a swimming pool, an exquisite
restaurant, a tennis court and a library to which the Punjab and Haryana governments have
been contributing liberally. Journalists are now hoping that Gill's next assignment
relates to the media -- of course, with lots of cash to disburse.
Ghosts for Company
Bangalore:
Following his victory over the dissidents belonging to former prime minister H.D. Deve
Gowda's camp -- both during the no-trust motion in the Assembly and at the JDLP meet --
Karnataka Chief Minister J.H. Patel threw a party for the media at the Century Club where
liquor flowed as freely as laughter. And even as the Deve Gowda camp was nursing its
wounds, Patel last week parked himself at the Jindal Institute of Naturopathy near
Bangalore to "recharge my batteries". Frequented by stalwarts like AIADMK
supremo J. Jayalalitha and Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, the institute is
Patel's favourite retreat too. Asked if the ghost (of Deve Gowda) will haunt him again,
Patel quipped: "Ghosts are bound to be there wherever God is!"
Party Lobbyists
Lucknow: Stung by the shocking defeat of the BJP in four of the five seats in the
just-concluded council elections, RSS top brass have decided to launch a media blitz to
refurbish the image of the Sangh Parivar. Be it the onion crisis or criticism of the
Kalyan Singh Government's performance, the RSS is blaming "secular journalists"
for the present state of affairs. RSS functionaries have now decided to personally meet
senior journalists and editors to tell them the "truth" behind the news. Kalyan,
unlike his predecessor Mulayam Singh Yadav, has always kept the media at a distance. No
wonder the Sangh has stepped in to win favours from the media to resurrect the image of
the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh.
Son Support
Delhi: During the Lok Sabha polls in March, Rahul, Priyanka and even her husband
joined Sonia's maiden campaign. But this time, Priyanka, who was present by her mother's
side when Sonia launched her campaign in Sriperumbudur, is conspicuous by her absence.
Instead, it was Rahul who flew in here last week from London to accompany his mother to
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. But at places he chose not to step out of the chopper.
Reason: Sonia does not want to launch young Rahul in politics. He is wanted around for
emotional support and not for political assistance -- at least for the time being. Rahul
too is in no mood to stay for long and plans to return to London shortly. |
