One tweet by Lalit Modi and the lid was blown off a virtual Pandora’s Box. The then Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, did not know what hit him. However, even if the entire world, from the UN to the banana chips vendor in Kochi, knew all about Modi, IPL, Shashi-and-Sunanda, one man remained oblivious to it all. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was en route to Brazil for the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) summit, when he finally woke up to the controversy and asked his media adviser, veteran journalist Harish Khare, to brief him on what was happening.
As Khare began explaining the links between Modi and cricket, Manmohan, who is not a keen follower of the Gentleman’s Game, looked increasingly bewildered. It was wife Gursharan Kaur, who was listening to the conversation, who noted this and came to the rescue. “Harish is talking about Lalit Modi of IPL and not Narendra Modi of Gujarat,” she explained. As peals of laughter resulted, a confused Manmohan said, “Yes, I know that but what is this IPL?”
Digging for dirt
minister targets colleague
The bitter cold war among politicians in North Block is a well known fact and the faces of the bureaucrats who have to get work done amidst it mirror the stress they face. This summer, the well decorated corridors of North Block are witnessing another kind of offensive. One of the most senior members of the Cabinet is on the prowl, stalking another equally senior colleague. This old and shrewd gent, a staunch devotee of Ma Kali, is unnaturally concerned about his contemporary’s financial dealings.
So a complete team of senior officials of his Ministry spent months digging out the financial transactions of the target, his wife and son. Even the officials instrumental in acquiring all this information are at a loss as to what their boss will do with it. As he is a 10, Janpath loyalist, the information was documented in the form of a commission report and submitted to the Gandhi residence. Everyone is holding their breath, waiting to see what happens.
Quartet in a jam
four leaders hunt for rs seats
Four Brahmin Congress leaders – Anand Sharma, Satish Sharma, Suresh Pachauri and Jairam Ramesh – are in a fix, unable to find safe Rajya Sabha seats. Anand’s home state, Himachal Pradesh, is ruled out as the BJP is in power there. Satish faces the same problem as Uttarakhand is also under the BJP. But Satish is attempting to lure Ajit Singh so that he can be elected from Uttar Pradesh. And Ajit can be adjusted in the coming Cabinet reshuffle. But Chaudhry Charan Singh’s beta is as unpredictable as weather.
Pachauri has been assured a seat from Madhya Pradesh but Digvijay Singh, the powerful AICC general secretary, keeps everybody in good humour so nothing can be taken for granted. Ramesh is sure of his seat, in Andhra Pradesh, but not of how the voters will vote. He knows of the last-minute glitches in the Congress in Andhra Pradesh.
It’s strange that these gentlemen are at a loss because they have all been political advisers in their time.
After Manmohan, who?
interim pm being pondered
All is not well between the Congress party and the PMO. Party stalwarts are assessing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s performance in the past year. With several states going to the polls this year and early next year, the party is in a mood to have a new face as PM before the reins of power go to Rahul Gandhi. If Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi, the one-time confidant of PV Narasimha Rao, is to be believed, Manmohan Singh is under tremendous pressure.
The question arises: after Manmohan, who? If it’s performance in the past year that counts, then Pranab Mukherjee scores over everyone else. But another strong contender is Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. She has performed excellently in the Lower House, and she is a Dalit and the daughter of Babu Jagjivan Ram.
Also, doubts are harboured over Mukherjee being ambitious and the chance that he might sabotage the plan for Rahul’s takeover. Dada’s loyalists say he learned a lot in the days, in the 1990s, when he would wait outside Oscar Fernandes’ office in the AICC headquarters till 3 am and then drive himself home in his old red Maruti. All this is alarming for the PMO, but it is in the nature of courtiers to keep asking, “After the king, who?”
