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Birthday Blues Delhi: Though the BJP
doesn't have much to celebrate, Christmas was a special day for Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee as it marked his 75th birthday. Full-page newspaper advertisements stood
conventional wisdom on its head, extolling Vajpayee's achievements as prime minister, even
wishing him a long stint in South Block. Queues of well-wishers could be seen outside his
7 Race Course Road residence from dawn and anybody who is somebody was there on December
25 to make their presence felt. Quite unlike last year when Vajpayee was the leader of the
Opposition and had celebrated his birthday by having a quiet lunch with 20-odd invitees.
But then, being the prime minister is quite another matter. Except for the RSS it seems,
for the Sangh members were conspicuous by their absence. Making a point perhaps ... that
all is not merry within the parivar.
Still Cut UP
Chandigarh:
Though they may have called truce officially, the running feud between Punjab Chief
Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his friend-turned-foe SGPC chief G.S. Tohra is far from
over. And if Badal is in no mood to compromise, his media managers are a step ahead in
pursuing their boss' wish to cut Tohra down to size. Last week, the two leaders shared the
dais at a function in Fatehgarh Sahib for the first time since hostilities broke out. A
mellowed Tohra even tried to break the ice by presenting a saropa (shawl) to the Akali
supremo, but Badal remained poker-faced and spurned the olive branch. Taking a cue from
Badal's cold shouldering, the state Public Relations Department circulated official
photographs of the function with Tohra neatly cropped out of the pictures. As for the SGPC
chief, the man who until recently held the remote control to the Badal Government is
seething at the unkind "cut" from his partymen.
Enemies Again
Delhi: Not
too long ago, Samajwadi Party leaders looked to Sonia Gandhi for inspiration. But with a
resurgent Congress plucking away at its vote bank, a livid Mulayam Singh Yadav has once
again taken to anti-Congressism, even bestowing the party with the title of enemy No. 1,
for long reserved for the BJP. That the SP means business became evident last week when
party MP Mohan Singh tabled a private member's bill seeking withdrawal of Special
Protection Group (SPG) security to all but the prime minister and his family. The SPG Act
is due for review in March. Unable to take her on politically, Singh is presumably
convinced that the best way to stop the Sonia blitzkrieg is to scare her into staying at
home -- by denying her the security she requires to move around.
Dry Season
Delhi:
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's sermon to her partymen to keep off alcohol seems to have
had an electrifying effect this New Year's eve. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma,
known for his lavish parties on Christmas and New Year's eve, opted to leave Delhi to
celebrate with his constituents in the North-east. Other Congressmen known to throw grand
parties on such occasions preferred to host lunches instead of inviting guests over for
dinners. The idea was to keep their circle of friends happy without serving liquor in the
afternoon. |
