- home ministry suffers
HERE is no love lost between the Union Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office over the issue of internal security. While the PMO takes policy decisions on various matters of national interest based on changing international relations, the Ministry pursues a professional line in matters of national security.
A recent statement from the PMO to the effect that terrorist activities have increased in the last two years has been widely construed as an indirect attack on Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil – a veteran from Maharashtra and one of the country’s respected politi-cians. Strangely, the PMO has been trying to corner him ever since he took over the reins at North Block.
Till recently, Al-Qaeda was on the PMO’s list. Statistics show that the Union Home Ministry performed well in checking its activities. Soon after the PMO indicated that dialogue with President Musharraf could be initiated, the situation changed.Toeing the line of the new policy tilt, the National Security Advisory Board – at its meet-ing held recently in Delhi – said that the threat perception has shifted from Al-Qaeda to Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islam (HUJI). This implied giving a clean chit to Pakistan – the proven patron of Al-Qaeda.
The latest theory is based on the recent serial blasts in courts at Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow and the suspect-ed involvement of Bangladesh-based HUJI terrorists in them.The NSAB sets the agenda for national security which the Union Home Ministry is bound to follow. And the efforts of Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to deal a final blow to
Al-Queda have all gone down the drain.
Sonia’s cooked speeches
spoiled broth
THE “speech refinery” is the most powerful unofficial cell of the All-India Congress Committee. Its members are drawn from diverse fields – all owing personal allegiance to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. A few days prior to her addressing a public rally, the refinery swings into action.
First, her speech is prepared by one of her low-profile and internet-savvy family friends, who identifies the issues, slogans and punch lines. This raw material is then passed on to a handful of armchair-critic intellectuals for polishing.
The third and final stage involves its translation into Hindi by a party officebearer who is seen shunting between the Congress head quarters and madam’s residence with sheafs of papers. These translators have already reaped rewards quite out of pro-portion to their struggle in political life.
The translated text is then typed in Roman and sent to the party chief and sometimes also to her children. With this distilled speech in hand, the Congress president sets out to address public ral-lies. The problem is that social equations and public mood are constantly chang-ing and such a speech can be outdated. In the campaign for the Gujarat polls, these “refinery” products were used extensively but failed to hit home. And people are left recalling the campaigns of Indira Gandhi who never needed speech writers.
Lalu the professional
minister’s new avatar
RAILWAYS Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has adopted a more profes-sional approach in appointing members of the all-powerful Railway Board. It seems the bitter lessons of the fodder scam have made him alter his style. Now he has one-to-one meetings with potential candidates, without any caste or regional bias. And, when mid-dlemen and promoters of a particular candidate, however close to Lalu, try to influence him, he has a policy of “in from one ear and out from the other ear”. It was the current Chairman of the board, KC Jena, who first got wind of Lalu’s altered approach and kept meeting him directly to secure the post. The posts of Member, Electrical and
Member, Staff have been vacant for almost six months. A fierce battle has ensued for the former post, the more lucrative. There are three candidates with degrees in electrical engineering. None wants the second post as it con-cerns the personnel department. Sukhbir Singh, General Manager of North Eastern Railway, is the senior most. Having lost the chairmanship battle to Jena, he is now aspiring for this slot. However, his candidature is opposed by Jena. Narendra Kumar Goyal, GM of Eastern Railway, is also in the race. SS Khurana, GM, East Coast Railway, is the youngest.
One of the candidates has wisened up to the new Lalu recently and start-ed meeting him directly. But the Minister is being open to all.
Judge for all seasons
justice jain’s quiet crusades
VIJENDRA Jain, former acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, is acclaimed for ensur-ing just implementation of the demolition drive of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) against unauthorized construction in the capital. The involvement of the engineering department staff in encour-aging the unauthorized constructions and their nexus with the political bosses also stood exposed.
However, not many people know of his role in the success of the Delhi Metro project. It would have been delayed by at least a hundred years but for the judiciary, which refused to entertain thousands of petitions seeking a stay on acquisi-tion of property coming in the way of the project.
After taking over as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Jain expressed concern at the incidence of female foeticide in both states at a public function. The government has failed to check this social menace with the exception of some commendable attempts by a few District Collectors. Justice Jain pointed out that the theory of Ardhnarishwar in Indian mythology calls for male-female equality. He has perhaps indicated that the judiciary might intervene to wipe out this social problem. For, undoubtedly, the judiciary can achieve what the government cannot.
