Delhi: Poetic Justice

I.K. Gujral's penchant for reeling off Urdu couplets is well known. So, when political temperature rose last week during the UF-Congress stand-off, the prime minister often dug deep into his repertoire of couplets from Ghalib to Faiz to lighten matters. In fact, during a heated argument between UF partners -- over dissolution of the Lok Sabha -- Gujral and Farooq Abdullah matched their wits in Urdu, evoking laughter from even Murasoli Maran and G.K. Moopanar, who don't understand the tongue. Last Monday, however, when Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma adjourned the House sine die, Gujral called on him in his chambers and reeled off a Ghalib couplet: "Jama karte ho kyon raqeebon ko, Ek tamasha hua gila na hua (Why have you assembled my detractors, It's become a public exhibition rather than a private complaint)." But Sangma as usual had the last word: "I'm sure what you have said must be really good, but I'm sorry it's all Greek to me."

Delhi: Hearing Aide

It wasn't a case of the prime minister not paying attention. I.K Gujral was holding a high-level meeting with senior bureaucrats recently and everything started off well. The pleasantries over, the babus began deliberating. The prime minister of course watched the proceedings keenly and nodded every time they looked to him for approval. This went on for almost 20 minutes; the officials talking and Gujral watching. Slowly it dawned on the bureaucrats that something was amiss with the prime minister, a man known for taking an active part in discussions of this nature. But before they could find the reason for his silence, in walked a personal aide of the prime minister and quietly handed him a small case. Gujral opened it and coolly put on his hearing aid, much to the irritation of the assembled bureaucrats who naturally had to start all over again.

Delhi: Power Play

Four years in power has only compounded the BJP's woes in the capital. With the supporters of former chief minister M.L. Khurana openly opposing the ruling group, the continuance of Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma hasbecome a matter of utmost concern for the party's top leadership. On November 22, party chief whip Ram Bhaj resigned along with the secretary B.S.Tanwar. A few days earlier, general secretary S.C.Rajan, treasurer Vasdev Kaptan and deputy leader Rajesh Sharma also quit their posts. All cited the same reason: the chief minister's lack of faith in their functioning.

But the legislator making sparks fly is Purnima Sethi. She recently charged senior party leaders with usurping all development funds. "Most of the major road works and subway construction is being done in the constituencies of ministers and privileged MLAs," she says. Verma had to face further trouble last week when 10 Khurana loyalists led by O.P. Babbar walked out of a legislature party meeting accusing the chief minister of "partisan leadership". "It is time the chief minister involves all 49 party MLAs in major policy decisions," says Babbar. The Khurana group is planning to take up the issue with the party's central leadership. For Verma, recently cleared of involvement in a Rs 1,000 crore land scam by the Lt-Governor, a fresh round of trouble is in the offing.

Mumbai: Forget Me Not

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra often comes under a strain on trivial issues. Last week, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde of the BJP was sulking for being ignored during a function to honour Lata Mangeshkar with the Maharashtra Bhushan award. After going to town complaining about the "shameful treatment", Munde is now planning his sweet revenge, and how? A major bash to mark Manohar Joshi's 60th birthday on December 2 at the chief minister's home constituency, Dadar, in central Mumbai. Munde, who is the chairperson of the high-level committee to handle the event, is taking no chances with this one -- he even lent one of his secretaries to the Cultural Affairs Department for the assignment. The Sena may forget me but I will give them a reason to remember, he says. A strange case of kiss-and-make-up this.

Mumbai: Winning Factor

Congress leaders in Maharashtra were attempting crisis control in the party when help came from the most unexpected source -- Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. PCC President Ranjit Deshmukh was working out ways to prevent disgruntled Congressmen, mainly in the sugar-rich western Maharashtra, from crossing over to the Shiv Sena, like Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil did last week. Party leaders were worried that the Sharad Pawar group's domination could lead to more Congressmen crossing over to the Sena soon. But Thackery, having wooed some key Congressmen into the Sena fold, has called a truce.

Vikhe-Patil, a Congress MP for two decades, had been battling Pawar's hegemony since the early '90s. His son Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who won the 1995 assembly election on the Congress ticket, joined the Sena earlier this year. Radhakrishna was made the agriculture minister by the Sena-BJP Government. "The Congress can't play around with workers and still expect complete loyalty," says Radhakrishna of his father's decision. It seems the Sena doesn't want to buy any more loyalty either.

Calcutta: Marxist Muzzle

In the good old days, the flow of information from the Marxist headquarters was tightly controlled. But 20 years is enough time for a breakdown. Angered at the detailed reports appearing in the "bourgeois" press on the wrangling in the CPI(M)'s ongoing organisational elections, Central Committee leader Biman Bose first threatened action against those comrades suspected of leaking out intimate, disgusting details to the press. When this failed to have an effect, he tried mocking the press for placing credibility on "plants". Last week, however, enough was enough. Bose warned the press of legal action against publishers of stories "inimical" to his party. Keeping reporters busy in courtrooms rather than having them sniffing for juicy details of infighting seems a novel way of assuring privacy for the Marxists.

Calcutta: Battle Cry

The Gorkhaland issue is on the boil again. This time it is over Gorkhaland National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Subash Ghising's choice of November 23 for a bandh in Kurseong to coincide with a CPI(M) rally, at which West Bengal's powerful Police Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was the chief speaker. Angered by Ghising's bandh call, Bhattacharya asked the CPI(M)'s depleted Darjeeling unit to prepare for another "struggle" against the GNLF. The party's 1987 "struggle" had led to Ghising compromising on the issue.

Gorkhas in the Darjeeling hills have been restive since former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda announced the formation of Uttarakhand last year. The GNLF seized the opportunity to go on the offensive emboldened by the fact that the CPI(M) is no longer a force in the area. But Bhattacharya wants partymen to resist the division. Ghising is uncompromising: "If they want a fight, we are ready." With both sides sharpening their khukris, it seems like the hills will witness another bout of violence.

Bangalore: Speaking Too Soon

Karnataka Chief Minister J.H. Patel speaks well -- sometimes so well that he has to issue an apology later. Last week, after he returned from Delhi, Patel spoke to reporters about the Jain Commission report fallout and told them that the Thakkar Commission report and the Bofors papers would be tabled in Parliament. The two issues being Congress-sensitive, soon after Patel's comments appeared in print,the startled Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy tried to make amends saying the party's chief minister was not aware of what was happening in Delhi. Patel's habit of shooting off his mouth is well known. Last month, during the inauguration of the revamped Krishnarajendra Market, where he had to stand in for the absentee chief guest H.D. Deve Gowda, Patel lost his cool when some BJP legislators interrupted his speech: "What are you doing?" he shouted at the police, "you idiots." And once, when a group of BJP leaders apprised him of the poor road conditions in Hubli, in north Karnataka, Patel shot back: "Why not use horses instead of motorised transport?" The incensed group wanted to hit back with a protest march on donkeys, but they couldn't get the animals in time.

Chandigarh: Welfare Ticket

Union Minister for Welfare Balwant Singh Ramoowalia couldn't have chosen a better time -- what with the UF Government in choppy waters -- to float a new organisation amidst much fanfare on November 23. Called the "Punjabi Bhalai Manch", the non-political outfit is part of Ramoowalia's strategy to stay politically afloat and establish himself in the state in the name of welfare of Punjabis. The "minister without a party" let the cat out of the bag when he said the Manch would throw up clean political leaders. Though he declared that no politician would be thrust on the outfit, its first resolution was to nominate Ramoowalia -- a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh -- as president. The Manch is reported to have the blessings of his mentor Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Sitaram Kesri, whom Ramoowalia always keeps in good humour. Ramoowalia's hidden agenda is to forge an anti-Akali front with the Congress' help during the next Lok Sabha elections. Whether the balladeer-turned-politician's new tune appeals to the people of Punjab is a moot question.

Bhubaneswar: Slow Catch

The long arm of the law often falls short when it comes to those close to seats of power. But much to the discomfiture of Orissa Advocate General Indrajit Ray, it has managed to catch up with him -- despite his closeness to state Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik. Last week, the CBI filed a charge-sheet against Ray, holding him prima facie guilty of molestation and attempted rape.

The advocate general has been at the centre of an unseemly controversy ever since Anjana Mishra, a housewife, accused him in July of attempting to rape her. Mishra, who was fighting a divorce case against her husband, alleged that Ray called her to his official residence to "mediate" in the dispute and then tried to rape her.

Though Ray has denied the allegations, the CBI, in its 14-page charge-sheet to the designated CBI court in Bhubaneswar, has sought the prosecution of the state's topmost counsel, relying on 43 witnesses and 26 documents, including the lie detector report of Ray's cook. Ray has to appearbefore the court on December 16.

The incident has already generated considerable heat, with the opposition demanding that the advocate general be sacked. Patnaik has resisted the move so far. But with the filing of the charge-sheet, it may not be possible for him to shield Ray for long.

Shimla: Honesty Shield

Controversies never cease to dog Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The Congress leader, still fortifying his defences against the rising dissidence within his own party, had another front opened against him on November 16 when Health and Sports Minister Ram Lal was accused by a Delhi-based journalist of trying to molest her in Bilaspur. Singh, in a quick damage-control attempt, ordered a "thorough probe" by the police. But his refusal to sack the minister on grounds of insufficient evidence exposed him to charges that he was "shielding the accused".

Lal shrugs off the allegations as trumped up. But the opposition parties and social organisations are demanding his head. "The minister is using his influence to destroy the evidence," says BJP leader Shanta Kumar. With the state facing assembly elections next year, the incident could not have come at a more inopportune moment for the chief minister.

Hyderabad: Popular Contest

When police in Kurnool wrote to Mayor Bangi Anantaiah that it was illegal to use a blue light on top of his car, they inadvertently sparked off a row. Peeved by the "insult", Anantaiah cast aside his mayoral robe, returned his official car to the corporation commissioner and switched to a bicycle for his rounds of the city with a securityman in tow on another bicycle. The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), to which Anantaiah belongs, applauded the decision because the cycle is the party's election symbol. But the police threatened to withdraw the security cover. " The gunman won't be able to act in time if he is holding the cycle," says district sp Santosh Mehra.

For Anantaiah that was just the handle to turn it into a caste issue. "The police are trying to belittle me because I am a Scheduled Caste," he complains. The mayor dashed off a letter to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pointing out that some mayors in Andhra Pradesh as well as in Kerala and Bihar use the blue light. While the police appear unrelenting, the rounds on the bicycle have won Anantaiah the support of local Dalits. With polls looming large, Naidu could not have asked for more.

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