Sonia chose Jogi and not the people of Chhattisgarh," says former Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla who has been campaigning relentlessly against his own party in Chhattisgarh. Supporters of Chief Minister Ajit Jogi replied with a thunder new in the newly formed state's politics: "Aag lagi hai aag, Vidya tu bhaag (There's fire all around you, run, Vidya run)."

NO LOVE LOST: Digvijay (left) and Natrajan

Shukla, expectedly, came up against the same Youth Congress he had so assiduously promoted during his hey day. The Congress veteran's cavalcade was attacked by rod-carrying goons who pass off as Youth Congress activists. The youth attacked his convoy, beat up his supporters and forced him to seek refuge in a forest guesthouse in Marwahi, Jogi's constituency. While the BJP leaders have often faced such violent opposition in the past three years, Shukla got a taste of his own medicine in his own lair. Shukla and his fledgling Chhattisgarh Sangharsh Morcha called a bandh the next day to coincide with Congress President Sonia Gandhi's visit.

There's no love lost between the once-powerful Shukla brothers and Sonia. They had thought one of them would be the natural choice as Chhattisgarh chief minister, but Sonia's inclination towards Jogi and her aversion for the Shuklas paved the way for their archrival to ascend the throne.

So Shukla, who had been a power player at the Centre for over four decades, has rolled the dice in Chhattisgarh politics for perhaps the last time. Whether that rocks Jogi's boat or not, state politics has certainly turned murkier.

Seeing Red

Mulayam Singh Yadav may have pulled off a coup with the videotape of Mayawati, but in West Bengal veteran CPI(M) Lok Sabha member Radhika Ranjan Pramanik is facing political and social boycott within his party for spilling the beans about how the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) allocation is being expropriated by the Marxist party without the MP even knowing.

Pramanik accused the party of framing his MPLAD schemes without consulting him and implementing these with insufficient auditing. Pramanik thought he would touch a raw nerve among comrade MPs, but he was wrong. Exasperated by the cold stare of fellow MPs, Pramanik has recently moved to-guess where?-the MS Flats residence of CPI(M)'s arch enemy, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress. "Radhikada is a respected leader," the lady cooed.

CONFESSIONAL

Ravi Shankar Prasad The Union minister of state for information and broadcasting spoke to Editor Prabhu Chawla on Seedhi Baat on his new portfolio.

Q. From Law Ministry to I&B. Is it a promotion or a demotion?
A. I have got independent charge so it's a kind of promotion.

Q. Will you use the official media to disseminate only the Government's views?
A. It's not propaganda. People should know the facts.

Q. But the private media is doing the same job.
A. You might be the fastest channel but even you have limited access compared with Doordarshan, which has 89 per cent reach. Also for private channels profit is their main concern.

Q. Will you require government subsidy?
A. We are working on financial alternatives. I have told officials to strategise their market policies to tap the market. There is need of professionalism to run government channels.

Q. Sushma Swaraj tried to set her own parameters in defining obscenity. Why?
A. I believe in self-regulation. There is a censor board for films, but no regulatory body for TV. Underwear advertisements and things like that do not go well with social norms.

Q. You mean advertisements of underwear are obscene?
A. The way these are presented is objectionable. A number of MPs have asked for laws against such ads. But first I am appealing to the channels to be self-regulatory.

Q. There's an impression that you will push the ideology of the Sangh Parivar.
A. The ideology of the Sangh Parivar is so deeply rooted in Indian society that it does not need any I&B minister to push it. I am a swayamsevak and I am proud of it.

Seedhi Baat is telecast on Aaj Tak on Wednesdays at 9.30 p.m. and on Thursdays at 12.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.