Vis-a-Vis

MURLI DEORA Union petroelum minister versus A. B. VAJPAYEE BJP leader

"With the hike in fuel prices, we have tried to pass on the least possible burden to the consumers."

"This is a joke. The Congress claims to work for the poor but always betrays them."

EPILOGUE: The Congress seems to be on a slippery oil slick after the fuel price hike.

VOICES

"The BJP has complete faith in our family. We have no grievances with the party. Its leaders know that our family loyalties cannot be questioned."

Gopinath Munde, BJP leader

"My age could be 60 or 62. Maybe 48 or 65 or even 55. My real date of birth is not known."

Lalu Prasad Yadav, Union railway minister

"Ministers, on assumption of office, should take an oath of transparency and administering the oath of secrecy should be dispensed with."

M. Veerappa Moily, head of Administrative Reforms Commission

"Amitabh Bachchan is not above law, but the income tax notices against him and his family have raised doubts. Why are they after a single family?"

Venkaiah Nadu, BJP leader

"These years in international cricket have taught me a few things in life. Now I know that there are good and bad phases."

Mohammad Kaif, cricketer

THE BUZZ OF THE WEEK

While there is intense lobbying for the post of head of the Congress media cell, Devendra Dwivedi, a former Additional Solicitor General and 10 Janpath's favourite, appears to be the frontrunner.

PICTURE SPEAK

NO BIZ: Ramadoss doesn't want stars to endorse colas

DELHI After bullying striking doctors into submission in the recent OBC reservation feud, PMK leader and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss feels he can overwhelm film and sport celebrities as well. At the Central Food Laboratories' golden jubilee celebration in Kolkata recently, he appealed to Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Aamir Khan, Virender Sehwag, Aishwarya Rai and other stars to "refrain from endorsing" soft drinks.

Ramadoss's logic is that colas endanger children as they get hooked to them. "Even if they (colas) do not contain pesticides, children are being harmed," he said. When asked about the reasons behind his outburst, his office at Nirman Bhawan, Delhi, belts out an exhaustive list of side effects including obesity. A doctor himself, Ramadoss feels rising cardiac problems among children are linked to drinking colas. The appeal is unlikely to be followed by any official action soon, Nirman Bhawan sources say.

Soft drink giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola use celebrity endorsements globally, but the minister wants to set a precedent by trying to end the practice in India. Last year, he had created a bigger controversy by issuing a circular banning on-screen smoking. It was to be effective from January 1 this year.

However, the information and broadcasting ministry put its foot down on the proposal following intense pressure from the film fraternity. The minister's request is being taken lightly by his colleagues in the council of ministers who think Ramadoss is being unrealistic. Worse still is the fact that the UPA's anti-MNC components like the RJD and Left haven't spoken a word yet in his favour.

-By Satarupa Bhattacharjya

LAUNCHED:

SENTENCED: Key witness in the Best Bakery case, Zahira Shaikh, to three months' rigorous imprisonment for perjury by a Mumbai sessions court.

DIED: Veteran Congress leader and six-time Lok Sabha member Krishan Dutt Sultanpuri, at Dharampur in Solan, following a massive cardiac arrest. He was 80.

ACQUITTED: By a Delhi court, five accused in the 1985 transistor blast case that killed 69 and hurt 127, for lack of evidence.

WON: By Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black and Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta, awards in technical categories at the International Indian Film Academy's Idea Awards 2006 in Dubai.

PICTURE SPEAK

COMRADES: Barnala (left) with Karunanidhi

In fact, Karunanidhi is believed to have insisted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Barnala be given an extended tenure. In the process, he has denied the Congress a chance to appoint its own candidate in Chennai. According to sources, Barnala has also been learning Tamil.

He began his second stint as the governor of Uttaranchal, when it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000; then he became governor of Andhra Pradesh in January 2003, and was shifted to Tamil Nadu in November 2004. Though his tenure expired last year, he was asked to continue because of the Assembly elections.

Barnala was caught recently in the tussle between Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa in the run-up to the polls, when the AIADMK government brought about a Bill to take over private broadcasters in the state, which include the Sun TV Network, owned by Karunanidhi's grand-nephew Kalanidhi Maran. Karunanidhi and other DMK leaders met the governor and asked him not to give his consent to the Bill.

A politician of rare integrity, Barnala is also a gifted painter, and has held several exhibitions of his landscapes. This will be his third term as a governor.

--By S.S. Jeevan

TROUBLED: Achuthanandan

Interestingly, both the scams were unearthed by Legislative Committees headed by LDF leaders while they were in the Opposition. The Opposition UDF has asked the chief minister to carry out his promise of not letting a tainted minister continue.

Achuthanandan has asked an LDF team to look into the issue, and rumours are rife that Joseph will be asked to step down. "We trust V.S. to keep his word," said Opposition leader Oommen Chandy.

Not the perfect start for the new government.

-M.G. Radhakrishnan

Artistic Chill

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