Wrong arm of the law

It is not summer yet but the Congress is already feeling the heat in Punjab. First, there is the anti-incumbency factor, which might just queer the pitch for Amarinder and Co. in the forthcoming polls. Worse, the party will now have to contend with an angry Election Commission after it failed to submit a list of its campaigners on time. Such a lapse means that the party nominees will now have to re-do their sums to include the cost of travelling. Meanwhile, at 24 Akbar Road, Congressmen are busy passing the buck to escape censure. Ahmad Patel blamed his rival Janardan Dwivedi, who, in turn, pointed an accusing finger at the secretary of the party legal cell. Incidentally, the legal cell has always been a bit of a joke in the party. Once, when the law had caught up with PV Narasimha Rao, Sonia Gandhi had advised him to take advice from the cell. A cornered but witty Rao told her politely that he wanted an honourable acquittal, and not further complications.

The number game

The Bachchans are riding high at the moment. First, Amar Singh gifted AB junior a sparkling Bentley for his birthday. Then it was the turn of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the director of Eklavya, to present Big B with a Rolls Royce Phantom for his stupendous performance in the film. Bachchan described the expensive gift as a gurudakshina. The guru happens to be Big B, who, reportedly, was signed by Chopra for the film for a token fee of one rupee. The industry however feels that Chopra’s grandiose gesture was nothing but an exercise in economics. Had Bachchan charged a fee of Rs 3.5 crore for the film, he would have had to pay a tax of Rs 1.2 crore. But the car, being a gift, attracted no tax penalty. Chopra, it seems, is as good with numbers as the camera.

Free bird

Shibu Soren has been biding his time in jail ever since he was convicted in the murder of his former private secretary. Dumka jail, which is now Soren’s home, has become the favourite haunt of not only JMM leaders but also bureaucrats who come to pay ‘courtesy calls’ to this high-profile leader. Recently, a senior IAS officer shocked his fraternity by visiting Soren and asking for his blessings for an important assignment. Soren’s political career may appear bleak at the moment. But going by the number of visits, it appears that he hasn’t lost control over the reins of the government.

Idol worship

One hears that Shahnawaz Hussein, the BJP’s Muslim face, did the unthinkable when he moved into a house on 7 Pandit Marg. Just when his party was trying to revive its militant Hindutva plank to recover political ground, Hussein is alleged to have pulled down a temple in his own backyard. Once realization dawned on our man, he embarked on a damage control mission. He quickly replaced the idol under a banyan tree and declared that his wife now regularly worshipped the lord in his new abode. Whether her prayers will be enough to save the day for her husband remains to be seen.

Tit for tat

You have to give it to the women legislators in Karnataka. After discovering that the JD(S)-BJP government, which has six women MLAs, did not have a single member from the fairer sex in the state cabinet, the disgruntled MLAs came up with a rather novel protest. The ladies attended the proceedings in trousers and shirts, just to prove that women are on a par with men. But then, the MLAs seemed to have met their match in Kumaraswamy, who heads the combine. The clever CM said that he could not appoint a single woman nominee to the cabinet for the fear that he would annoy the other five in the process. Hence, he felt that it would be best to deprive all the six women.

Promises to keep

After the president, APJ Kalam, put his signature on the forest bill, the opposition leader in MP, Jamuna Devi, thought that it was time to spread the word among tribals that the bill has been passed due to the efforts of the party president, Sonia Gandhi. However, party leaders who were supposed to carry this precious message to the villages in the state were in for a rude shock. The Congressmen were not even allowed to enter the villages in some places. In Chhindwara, when partymen asked what the matter was, the tribals only asked one question: why had the Congress not fulfilled its earlier promises?

Stamp of admiration

Preity Zinta has decided to take a call from BSNL. She has decided to become the brand ambassador of the company. Worried over its falling market rates, BSNL first approached Rani Mukherjee with the offer in order to rev up its sales. Mukherjee declined to don the mantle after she learnt that BSNL did not cover the capital or her own city, Mumbai. It was then that the company decided to approach Bollywood’s woman of substance to bail it out. Sanjay Murthy, secretary to the Union telecom minister, Dayanidhi Maran, was asked to strike a deal with Zinta. This proved to be a masterstroke as Murthy, a Himachal cadre officer, did not find it too difficult to make a fellow Himachali see the point. Last heard, Maran is now expected to fly to Mumbai and present a stamp to Zinta on Valentine’s Day. But wouldn’t it have been better if the minister handed over this token of appreciation to his man friday, Murthy, who made it all happen?