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Double Office
Delhi: Ever since the BJP formed the Government at the Centre, the importance
of its headquarters on Delhi's Ashoka Road has diminished. With RSS apparatchiks in
residence, the party office has turned into a sleepy, placid sort of place. Now, however,
the place may soon become an important nerve centre again. A room there is being readied
for Home Minister L.K. Advani. Though Advani no longer holds any organisational post, it
is clear that he remains all important in the party-a sort of senior statesman. The office
will be ready in a fortnight, after which Advani will divide his time between Ashoka Road
and the Home Ministry at North Block. With Advani back at the headquarters, it is clear
that BJP President Kushabhau Thakre's importance will be further reduced. Security Cover-up
Bangalore: Former prime minister H.D.
Deve Gowda, who has a penchant for dashing off letters to Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and releasing their copies to the press, has been saying that he doesn't want the
Special Protection Group's (SPG) "baggage of security" for him and his family
members-including his two sons who are in politics. It's another matter that Deve Gowda
continues to move under the SPG's shadow because "otherwise people think you are not
important". According to the SPG Act, the security cover can be removed only if Deve
Gowda's children too either append their signatures to their father's famous missives or
write similar letters to the prime minister. Clearly, the other family members do not wish
to do away with the security cover because of the prestige associated with it. As police
sources say, the son of the soil should first set his house in order and then talk about
"unnecessary" security and the drain on the exchequer.
Elusive Buddha
Calcutta: Last year, at about this time,
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee received the message that the "Buddha had
smiled". Things have changed, and last week, caretaker Prime Minister Vajpayee
received a message that "Buddha was busy". Of course, the busy Buddha being West
Bengal's caretaker chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya (Jyoti Basu is in London for
treatment). So, while Vajpayee was in the city to lay the foundation stone for the
extension of the Calcutta metro, Bhattacharya sent word that he had to be elsewhere for a
"pre-arranged" engagement. All this, after Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had
already put his name down as one of the dignitaries who were to attend the function.
Diplomatic Draught
Delhi: Traditionally, the October-March
season witnesses a flood of foreign visitors to India and the summer months see Indian
leaders flying out. But the demise of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government has led to a
cancellation of all major visits. Except for External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh who
is visiting two central Asian countries and Russia. The only major diplomatic event will
be Vajpayee's inaugural ride on the new Calcutta-Dhaka bus service some time in mid-June.
Though there will be no hype of the type that accompanied the Lahore visit, officials say
the new bus service gives a major boost to Indo-Bangladesh relations. |
