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to Form Delhi:
Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj was playing the little sister this time round. As she drove
in her Ambassador to attend the swearing-in of Delhi ministers, Swaraj realised that she
had missed out party chief Kushabhau Thakre. Picking up her mobile phone, she requested
the genial Thakre to make it to Raj Niwas. But he would have to hurry, for there was
barely half an hour left. Thakre tried to wriggle out by saying that he did not have
proper clothes for the occasion, and the only dhoti-kurta at hand was crumpled. Not the
one to give up easily, Swaraj was quick on the repartee: "So what's new Thakreji, we
haven't seen much of the dapper you, have we?" Thakre did not disappoint Swaraj. The
BJP president was spotted at the lt governor's house dot on time. And for sure, he hadn't
surprised those who know him well. At least not in the way he was attired.
Ex-CM's Club
Bhopal: Former
chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh form an exclusive club. The BJP has three: Kailash
Joshi, V.K. Saklecha and Sunderlal Patwa. The Congress has four: G.N. Singh, S.C. Shukla,
Arjun Singh and Motilal Vora. The ex-CMs' club apparently believes in protecting the
interests of its members. And the chief minister of the day is only too willing to help --
for he knows that he too will become a member of the club some day. It started with the
allotment of government accommodation to former chief ministers. The move was initiated by
Patwa who was relegated to the position of an ordinary MLA when the Congress Government
came to power five years ago. So, at Patwa's behest, Chief Minister Digvijay Singh
extended the facilities of a cabinet minister -- official vehicle, pa and office staff --
to all the ex-CMs who are members of the Assembly. Recently, at Vora's request, Digvijay
extended this facility to other ex-CMs too. But with a rider -- they have to be
"current members of Parliament". It is no coincidence that two of the former CMs
left out of the deal, Arjun Singh and G.N. Singh, are sworn opponents of Digvijay.
Calling Clout
Hyderabad:
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu seems to have a way with successive prime ministers.
Driving through flood-hit Vijayawada, he stopped, borrowed a cell phone and requested Atal
Bihari Vajpayee to visit Andhra Pradesh for a first-hand appraisal of the situation. The
prime minister agreed and Naidu lost no time in conveying this to the awe-struck victims.
But Vajpayee did one better. After the Diwali-eve aerial survey, he announced an immediate
relief of Rs 200 crore. Though Naidu had requested Rs 500 crore, he was surprised as the
relief amount was more than he had expected. A beaming Naidu then thanked "His
Excellency for a visit almost immediately after my request over the phone".
Evicted at Last
Chandigarh:
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's attempts to shift his predecessor Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal from the palatial government bungalow in Chandigarh's VIP Sector 2 had proved
futile as his "nosey neighbour" kept citing her cabinet status as leader of the
Opposition. But now Bhattal's own party seems to have solved Badal's problem. Last week,
PCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh replaced her as the CLP leader. Bhattal's unceremonious
exit, while abroad, has prompted the Government to prepare for her eviction. Clearly, with
colleagues like Amarinder, Bhattal does not need any enemies. |
