PURE POLITICS: Patel at the dharma sabha

After the star denials in the Bharat Shah case, the tapes of the phone conversations with Karachi-based gangster Chhota Shakeel had lost their sheen. Until Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal dropped a bomb shell in the state Assembly: "Someone" in the Prime Minister's Office had offered to get certain Mumbai Police officers transferred.

Reading out a conversation between Shakeel and Chori Chori Chupke Chupke producer Nazim Rizvi, Bhujbal said Rizvi had boasted that a former under secretary in the PMO was a close friend and offered to get the officers transferred. He also said "people in the PMO" wanted to see the film in their private theatres. Bhujbal took care not to mention names. But the BJP lost no time in lodging a strong protest. Bhujbal had hit where it hurts most-at the hub of power.

Left Out of Power

That Trinamool Congress MLAs are targeting former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu is no surprise, but what is raising eyebrows is Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's nonchalance. The octogenarian Basu stays at Indira Bhavan, a state government property for which the CPI(M) pays the rent. The Opposition wants the Government to find a tenant who pays a higher rent. Bhattacharya's team is yet to defend the VVIP.

The fact that Basu moves around with a convoy of 12 cars is often jeered at by Trinamool legislators, but the "sitting Buddha" maintains a stoic silence. Are some acts indefensible?

No Visa for Kuwait Visit

For the past two years, Delhi's Shahi Imam Ahmad Bukhari has been trying to either meet the Kuwaiti ambassador or travel to Kuwait (not always in that order) to collect funds. But the Kuwait Government has been firm in its refusal: it did not want to be associated with fund-raising activities that had no end-user certification-or, in other words, the blessings of the Indian Government.

The Imam, on his part, denied ever having asked for a visa to Kuwait. Instead, he ordered his followers to picket the Kuwaiti Embassy on Sunday to protest against the US war on Iraq and the killing of innocent Muslims. Kuwaiti officials are most unhappy that "a visa rejection was turned into an activist cause". "God teaches us to respect our government first," says the spokesman of the Kuwaiti Embassy wryly.

CONFESSIONAL

Kuldip Singh Chairman, Delimitation Commission, on the problems of constituencies

Q. Is it finally certain that you will lead the Congress in the coming assembly elections in Rajasthan?
A. There was never any doubt. The speculation in this regard was totally wrong but sometimes it is better to keep quiet.

Q. The BJP intends to give you a tough fight and the Bajrang Dal, VHP and others will not allow you a cakewalk.
A. In Himachal Pradesh, heroes became zeroes. The Narendra Modi formula did not work there, it won't work here.

Q. Can you be good to the Hindus and not offend the Muslims?
A. I go to a temple not to show off but because I want to. Similarly, I take steps for the welfare of Muslims because it is the Congress' and my commitment to look after them.

Q. The soft budget this year shows you have got into election mode.
A. An election year does impact budgets but my budgets have never been extreme.

Q. Some regard your move to allow government employees to take a five-year break to start their own enterprises as too progressive.
A. This will help downsize the government without being harsh on employees and also encourage them to take risks and develop entrepreneurial skills.

Q. Four years ago, you were labelled as a weak administrator. How do you feel now?
A. Now they call me a good administrator. The official car facility for bureaucrats has been withdrawn, we have regular meetings with SPs and collectors. All this has helped.

Q. What will be your USP for the elections?
A. Performance. People take note of efficiency and vote for a party that delivers

-Shyamlal Yadav