no visa for aroosa
The former Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, has been left quite disheartened after all his shuttling between Patiala and Delhi yielded no results. He kept rushing to Delhi ostensibly to campaign for strengthening the Congress in Punjab or to gather support against arch rival Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.
Now, why would he knock on the doors of his influential Minister friends for such trivial issues? The grapevine says the entire exercise was linked to a matter of the heart. His Pakistani journalist friend, Aroosa Alam, is not getting a visa for India. This, despite Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur being Minister of State for External Affairs. Or is she the impediment?
Meanwhile, Amarinder is valiantly continuing his efforts to bring Aroosa to India.
Azad plays it safe
gives up amu dream
Ghulam Nabi Azad is one of those politicians who are more active behind the scenes. Those close to this maverick politician from Kashmir vouch for his many moves that are characterised by military precision. And, like a wise general, he knows when to retreat.
Though he is Minister for Health and Family Welfare, he is known to make forays into other areas – always doing his home work well. Being Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is considered a prestigious achievement among India’s Muslims. Azad eyed the chair and sent feelers to the current Vice-Chancellor, PK Abdul Aziz. He also cajoled the members of the University’s court in Aligarh, but to no avail. Even the President of India did not like the idea of a Cabinet Minister becoming Chancellor of the University.
So Azad, like a judicious general, withdrew sans fuss.
Antony master stroke
reins in gen kapoor
Outgoing Army chief Deepak Kapoor’s close links with former Military Secretary Avdesh Prakash and Vice-Chief of Army Staff PK Bhardwaj are well known. The astute AK Antony, Defence Minister, had got wind of the murmurings within South Block. A veteran in politics, he knows well the nuances of the Defence Ministry. Gen Kapoor reportedly threatened to resign for well known reasons.
In the past two months, there were three major events – the Republic Day parade, the President of India’s at-home, and Defence Expo 2010. The circumspect Antony, keen to safeguard the armed forces’ image, reportedly told Gen. Kapoor, who retires on March 31, “People look up to the soldiers of this country.” Nothing should happen to undermine the respect accorded to the armed forces, he emphasized.
The Minister’s handling of the situation saved the day for the nation.
Ambika’s power lunch
invitees, absentees and all
I&B Minister Ambika Soni’s 22, Akbar Road residence recently hosted a luncheon that had all the Union Ministers and senior AICC functionaries as well as media honchos in full attendance. The most striking politician was Ahmed Patel, who was his usual suave self. Sharmila Tagore was also present and circulated among the guests.
Soni, moving from table to table, talked of the preparations to broadcast the Commonwealth Games. She reeled off the Ministry’s achievements and the schemes that have been initiated for the Games.
The absence of Doordarshan CEO BS Lalli and Director-General Aruna Sharma was notable. Sources say they were not invited. However, members of the Prasar Bharati board were present. Of them, Mrinal Pande, Muzaffar Ali and Sunil Kapoor mingled noticeably with top Congress politicians.
