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Newsnotes Delhi:
Distressing Elections
It is an election that none of the parties wanted. And the premature dissolution of the
11th Lok Sabha has caught them all off guard. Party managers are having to work overtime
to kickstart their rusty organisational machinery and, most importantly, get the funds
rolling in.The United Front, usually the poor connection in such matters, is however on a
firm wicket this time -- with governments in 10 states and each chief minister looking
after the party's requirements. But it is the Janata Dal that is facing a bit of a
problem. In March, when Sitaram Kesri pulled the rug from under H.D. Deve Gowda, not too
many of his own partymen stood by him. But now that many of them are running to him, the
former prime minister has the opportunity to hit back. Deve Gowda and his trusted aide,
party treasurer C.M. Ibrahim, have made it clear they will take care of only their
loyalists, leaving others to fend for themselves. At a dinner hosted by party President
Sharad Yadav, these MPs approached Ibrahim with an "all eyes are on you", but
were politely told to seek out the prime minister. But with I.K. Gujral showing no
inclination of getting involved, these MPs have been driven to desperation. At least three
such MPs have been forced to resort to "distress sale" of their brand new Maruti
Zens. As one of them said: "Desperate times call for desperate measures." How
true.
Delhi: That Last Sermon
It was the last piece of advice from an outgoing prime minister, but it left his
audience more amused than chastened. Hours before he submitted his resignation, I.K.
Gujral, while presiding over the Inter-State Council meeting, asked state chief ministers
to curtail -- of all things -- their foreign junkets. He, in fact, deviated from the
meeting's agenda to lecture on how state ministers were flying out of the country on
invitations from sundry organisations abroad. Coming as it did from someone who in his
seven-month tenure earned the reputation of a "jet-set" prime minister, for the
amused gathering Gujral's off-the-cuff sermon sounded like the pot calling the kettle
black.
Delhi: Slow Train Coming
For 50 years, Delhiites have been told that they will get a metro rail, and 50
committees have given their verdicts so far. Now it's time for the 51st exercise. The
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC), set up in May 1995, has shortlisted three
international consortiums for the ambitious Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) project.
Global tenders for the project's first phase -- 55 km at an estimated Rs 8,200 crore by
March 2005 -- will be floated next year. Admits N.P. Singh, DMRC chairman and Union urban
development secretary: "If we don't press ahead now, our costs will go up
astronomically." Indeed, the only urgency shown was in drafting a full-time managing
director last month. Singh insists that work will start by October 1998, but Delhi MLA
P.K. Chandla, a member of the Transport Working Group, is cautious: "Even if the
first phase is completed on time, its utility will be diminished because vehicles would
have doubled (by 2005) and the population up by a few millions." Looks like it's
still a long way before the metro actually gets rolling.
Bangalore: The Rose Goddess
Sonia Gandhi apparently has a special admiration for roses. At least that's what was
evident during her visit here for a national seminar on the welfare of the disabled
recently. Standing in the main hall of the Raj Bhavan, Sonia kept her composure and
enigmatic smile as she patiently received over a score of bouquets from Congress workers
and well-wishers. But what she didn't notice was that some smart Congressmen, who walked
in empty- handed, had tapped the orderlies to recycle the bouquets. As one party worker
said, "Sometimes you have to use your ingenuity. After all, stealing flowers is no
big deal; senior officials are known to have stolen flowers to appease gods. And Sonia is
our goddess." But the question is, will their goddess smile during the elections?
Patna: Fish for Fodder
Supporters of former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav have been queuing up at the
Bihar Military Police (BMP) guest house -- where he has been lodged as an undertrial in
the fodder scam case -- to tickle his taste-buds. Not surprisingly, the flavour of the
season is fish. Journalists discovered this recently when they saw a supporter sneak in a
live Rohu because Laloo, who usually spends time angling in the BMP campus pond, had had a
luckless day. Apparently, fishing and cooking are part of his time-killing routine -- with
a regular dose of khaini (chewing tobacco) in between meals. And after a sumptuous fare,
Laloo gets his pancreas active -- spitting venom at Deve Gowda, Ram Vilas Paswan and
Sharad Yadav.
Chandigarh: Prodigal Father
If the announcement of mid-term election has made some people really happy, they are
the residents of Faridkot. The entire state of Punjab has suddenly woken up to the chronic
problem of water-logging. No sooner were the polls announced than the Parkash Singh Badal
Government worked out a Rs 206 crore package for the affected areas. But why this sudden
benevolence? Simple: Faridkot is the constituency of Badal's son Sukhbir. Implicit in the
largesse is the strategy to shore up the electoral chances of Sukhbir who, incidentally,
was among the first-time MPs against dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Badal is leaving no
stone unturned as the state machinery works overtime in the VIP constituency. To ensure a
smooth electoral kick-off for his son, he is spending much of his time touring Faridkot.
The residents are not complaining.
Chandigarh: War Within
With the stage set for the general election, fight-to-finish war cries are becoming
common. In the faction-ridden Haryana Congress, however, such bravado is often directed at
rivals within. Former chief minister Bhajan Lal organised a dissidents' rally in Rohtak
last week and called for the defeat of arch-foe and pcc chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda. An MP
from Rohtak in the dissolved Lok Sabha, Hooda is a close confidant of party chief Sitaram
Kesri. Miffed at the humiliation meted out to him at Kesri's behest, Lal, who heads a
strong dissident group of 12 MLAs, is bent upon settling scores in this election. For his
part, Hooda has vowed to rid Haryana of the "politics of Lals" -- Bhajan Lal,
Bansi Lal and Devi Lal. Given the rebels' clout, Kesri faces a Hobson's choice -- any
action now would spell more trouble for the party.
Lucknow: Fading Gandhi
Forget about "Gandhian socialism" that the bjp once pursued so vigorously as
its official credo. Now even the Mahatma's portraits have disappeared from ministerial
chambers in Lucknow. Most of them have landed up in dusty corners behind steel almirahs.
But while the ministers' aides say the old and greying frames are to be replaced with new
ones, few of the 92 ministers -- not even those who hopped from the Congress to support
Kalyan Singh -- have placed orders with the Information & Culture Department. Instead,
the current photo-framed favourites are Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deendayal Upadhyay and B.R.
Ambedkar.
In fact, Gandhi's decline in Uttar Pradesh started a few years ago with the Bahujan
Samaj Party -- till recently the BJP's partner -- publicly abusing the Father of the
Nation for coining the "derogatory" word Harijan. During her six-month tenure,
former chief minister Mayawati flooded the state with statues of Ambedkar and even set up
a Rs 120-crore Ambedkar Park and Parivartan Chowk, which Kalyan held up as glaring
examples of misuse of funds under her rule. The clock seems to have come full circle. Now,
the Kalyan Singh Government is being accused of indulging in the same practice to complete
the Laxman Park and Deendayal Upadhyay Park in the state capital. Whatever happened to
Gandhi and socialism?
Thiruvananthapuram: Fifth Faction
A senior leader of one of the Kerala Congress factions once said: "Our party goes
on splitting as it grows and goes on growing as it splits." No political statement
could have rung truer as last week saw the fifth split in the Kerala Congress (Joseph)
faction, a constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) (the other three factions
are with the United Democratic Front (UDF).
The revolt in the faction is against its Chairman and Education Minister P.J. Joseph and
is led by its General Secretary T.V. Abraham and former MLA M.V. Mani, both of them since
expelled. "We are the real Kerala Congress (J) and demand Joseph's expulsion from the
Cabinet," says Abraham. Though the rebels say that they would remain in the LDF,
indications are that they may cross over to the UDF camp. In fact, the rebels' main grouse
is that Joseph has been too subservient to the CPI(M)'s diktats. The rebels have also
demanded a probe into a series of allegations of graft against Joseph. Whatever the
outcome, a split in another Kerala Congress faction, coming before the elections, will
only bolster the Opposition UDF.
Hyderabad: Avoidable Flashback
The price for opening up old wounds is often painful and heavy. While the United Front
declared the December 6 anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition as a Black Day, local
organisations like the Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and the Majilis Bachao Tehreek
(MBT), with an eye on the Hyderabad corporation polls, called for a bandh in the Old City
to play on the Muslim psyche.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu indulged in characteristic
doublespeak. He addressed a Black Day rally to woo the Muslim voters and deployed an
additional 2,000 personnel, including those from the Rapid Action Force and the Andhra
Pradesh Special Police, to counter the bandh and maintain law and order. On seeing the
peaceful response, MIM and MBT supporters, instead of dispersing after prayers at the
Mecca Masjid, south-west of the famous Charminar, came out in large groups and pelted
passers-by and the police.
Though the police was swift in preventing the situation from getting out of control,
one person was stabbed to death -- apparently a case of personal rivalry -- and a woman
killed when a bullet ricocheting from a window frame struck her while she was feeding her
four daughters. The accident was a result of the police firing in the air at night to
disperse unruly mobs trying to take advantage of the darkness after power supply tripped
in many Old City areas. The Congress was quick to lay the blame at Naidu's door. "He
has made a provocative appeal with communal vertones," said party Vice-President K.
Keshava Rao. Clearly, with the sudden switch to election mode, the gameplan of most
political parties is to whip up communal passions. |
