Delhi: Tying Political Knots

Kabhi haan, kabhi naa. That's the way it was between Lakshmi Parvati and Atal Bihari Vajpayee till the very end. Despite the efforts of power broker Jayant Malhoutra who has been in and out of favour with politicians of various ideological hues -- Kanshi Ram, Rajiv Gandhi and L.K. Advani -- the lady from Andhra Pradesh continued to play coy. The nine-hour placatory meeting with Malhoutra notwithstanding. Vajpayee, in fact, was quick in detecting the lady's mood and refused to address a joint press conference with her, unsure of what N.T. Rama Rao's widow might come up with, demanding more seats as she was. He agreed reluctantly after Malhoutra jokingly told him, "Placate her, hold her hand, after all you are in the race for prime ministership.'' Ladies man that he is, Vajpayee doesn't have problems with that! Nor does Parvati. It's a political alliance after all.

Delhi: Roadways' Blues

It's a fight between two BJP governments that has spilled on to the roads. Almost unilaterally, the Delhi Government stopped buses of the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) from offloading passengers at the city's Kashmere Gate Inter-State Bus Terminus from January 1. The move comes close on the heels of a similar imbroglio with the BJP-supported Haryana Government, which was subsequently sorted out. But hapless passengers of the popular RSRTC -- among the few profit-making transport corporations in the country -- will now have to embark at Sarai Kale Khan, a terminus still in its infancy as far as basic facilities are concerned. Its remoteness is a nightmare for transit passengers.

Naturally, RSRTC's business has fallen sharply. From the normal 3,500 to 4,000 passengers daily, it's down to 1,400. "We are unable to see reason in the Delhi Government's move. It is totally unjustified," says H.D. Sharma, the RSRTC's depot manager in Delhi. Sources say that the Delhi Government, saddled with the loss-making Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), is pressing Rajasthan to give its buses more space to operate in the state. At present, RSRTC buses are allowed 12,000 km in Delhi, while the DTC is allowed 18,000 km in Rajasthan of which it covers only 8,000-9,000 km. Yet, the DTC now wants 60,000 km. Until the issue is resolved, passengers will continue to be taken for a ride.

Mumbai: Poll Play-time

The Maharashtra government and lakhs of parents seeking admission for their children to pre-primary schools are in a fix. In a bid to curb admission related malpractices and establish some norms for pre-primary schools, the Government had enacted a legislation last year. The Maharashtra Pre-school Centres Act, among other things, makes registration of all such schools compulsory and prescribes that a school admit children from its neighbourhood. It also restricts the right of minority institutions to admit 50 per cent children from their community. The move sparked off protests and a spate of petitions challenging the provisions in the high court. With the result that principals of these schools refused to start admissions for the next academic year unless the Act was amended.

The prolonged legal battle over, the Government agreed to amend the Act to incorporate some suggestions on both the minority quota and the neighbourhood norm. But there's one hitch. With elections round the corner, the Government is hampered by the Election Commission's code of conduct and cannot make the amendments. Says Education Minister Sudhir Joshi: "we are in a fix on how to do this without violating the code." But with principals adamant, it's play time for the tiny tots till the impasse is resolved.

Lucknow: Brickbats & Bouquets

When Governor Romesh Bhandari turned up at Kalyan Singh's residence to wish him on his 67th birthday, the chief minister blushed. Kalyan's embarrassment at receiving a bouquet from Bhandari -- the man who tried hard to prevent him from becoming chief minister -- is understandable, given the ongoing war of nerves between the two. Recently, Kalyan inexplicably allotted the "Governor's suite" in Delhi's UP Niwas to its resident commissioner. Only when Raj Bhavan protested did Kalyan realise that the suite was permanently reserved for the governor. Next, Kalyan sought the governor's assent to an ordinance curtailing Bhandari's own powers as chancellor of the state's universities. Clearly, the bouquet was meant more as a brickbat, or so it seems.

Lucknow: Teaching Trouble

On the face of it, it was plain patriotism. But the state Government's decision to impose Vande Mataram on schools was widely perceived as part of the BJP's Hindutva agenda. The order, issued recently by the State Minister for Primary Education Ravindra Shukla, had asked the principals of all government and government-aided primary schools to begin the day with Vande Mataram. The principals were to instruct their students to say "Vande Mataram", instead of "Yes sir/madam", during roll call in the morning. Besides, the students were also expected to offer prayers to portraits of Bharat Mata.

The notice created a furore among Muslims. School principals were flooded with letters decrying the "UN-Islamic" practice. The legal adviser of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Zafaryab Jilani, threatened to move court if the Government didn't withdraw the notice. Jilani argued that "Islam strictly prohibits idol worship". When the controversy was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Kalyan Singh -- out to woo the Muslims before the elections -- he promptly stalled the order. Next time Shukla issues an order, it surely won't have anything to do with Vande Mataram.

Chandigarh: The Beekeeper

With Sonia Gandhi deciding to campaign, anything Italian makes news. Recently, journalists were amused as well as surprised when Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) M.S. Gill -- in Chandigarh for a pre-poll review -- deviated from the topic to express his concern over Italian honey bees starving to death due to late flowering of crops this season. Few really know that Gill, during his tenure as a bureaucrat in Punjab, had a passion for promoting bee-keeping and encouraged introduction of the Italian breed. Since then, the Italian bees have been close to his heart. Gill appealed to the administration to give loans to beekeepers to tide over the crisis. He even said the model code of conduct would not sting the Government's loan to beekeepers, leaving many pen-pushers wondering if his sweet-talk for the Italian bees had any Sonia connection.

Thiruvananthapuram: Reel-life Drama

It was a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony, but for Malayalam megastar Mammooty it turned into a reel-life scene. On his arrival for the function at Aluva in Ernakulam district, a large crowd of admirers

Lucknow: On the face of it, it was plain patriotism. But the state Government's decision to impose Vande Mataram on schools was widely perceived as part of the BJP's Hindutva agenda. The order, issued recently by the State Minister for Primary Education Ravindra Shukla, had asked the principals of all government and government-aided primary schools to begin the day with Vande Mataram. The principals were to instruct their students to say "Vande Mataram", instead of "Yes sir/madam", during roll call in the morning. Besides, the students were also expected to offer prayers to portraits of Bharat Mata.

The notice created a furore among Muslims. School principals were flooded with letters decrying the "UN-Islamic" practice. The legal adviser of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Zafaryab Jilani, threatened to move court if the Government didn't withdraw the notice. Jilani argued that "Islam strictly prohibits idol worship". When the controversy was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Kalyan Singh -- out to woo the Muslims before the elections -- he promptly stalled the order. Next time Shukla issues an order, it surely won't have anything to do with Vande Mataram.

Thiruvananthapuram: MNC Inroads

The CPI(M) may continue to be in the hate-Enron camp, but the US multinational (MNC) is slowly making forays into left-ruled states. After West Bengal's clearance to Enron's LNG terminal proposal, the Left Front Government in Kerala is all set to give its go ahead for a 513 mw joint venture power project between the MNC and Kannur Power Project Ltd, headed by former Department of Electronics secretary K.P.P. Nambiar.

The Rs 1,470 crore project is to come up in Kallyasseri, the village of Chief Minister E.K. Nayanar. Incidentally, Nambiar is a relative of Nayanar's and hails from the same village. Says state Congress chief Vayalar Ravi: "When it is Nayanar's relative who brings an MNC into his own village, the CPI(M) puts all its protests against MNCs on the backburner."

Calcutta: Crowd Puller

Need a crowd for an event in Calcutta? Contact Subhash Chakravorty, the state's maverick sports minister. And since he also handles the transport portfolio, he can bus up a huge crowd for the occasion. Recently, the Eden Gardens played host to the women's World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, and Calcutta just had to live up to its reputation of a sports crazy city. So Chakravorty mobilised women from the ruling CPI(M)'s frontal organisations and schoolchildren from his constituency and had them transported by state buses to the venue. He even coaxed private operators to make a small sacrifice. Result: some 60,000 people cheered the eves on their great day. While the cricketers were duly smitten, Calcutta also sent the message to the cricket world that it gives the fairer sex its due support.

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