Under fire

A politician’s life can at times be harder than a diplomat’s. Shashi Tharoor seems to have discovered this bitter truth only recently. The diplomat-turned-author-turned neta has apparently upset a number of important people in his party with his frequent, and not-so-glib, remarks concerning the recently drafted Indo-Pak joint statement. A number of people who have taken umbrage to Tharoor’s remarks have circulated an SMS, making a dig at him and his alma mater, St Stephen’s College. The text reads as follows: “Yeh jo tera suroor hai, yeh tere college ka kasoor hai (It is the fault of your college that you are so drunk [on power]).” But a clutch of Stephanians, who are members of the council of ministers, have decided to defend their beloved college, though not Tharoor. Thus, a revised SMS is now in circulation, and it has this to say about the matter: “Yeh to jo tera suroor hai, isme tere college ka kya kasoor hai? (Why should your college be blamed for your intoxication?)” Caught in the war of words is the suave diplomat who now knows how it feels to be in the line of fire.

Together apart

A lot seems to be in common between Shashi Tharoor and SM Krishna, the external affairs minister. As with Tharoor, Krishna’s weak defence of the joint statement at Sharm-al-Sheikh also raised a storm. But the similarity doesn’t end there. Both men are yet to find a shelter that they could call their own. It has been a while since Krishna took over as the country’s foreign minister but he is still a tenant in a plush five-star hotel suite. The reason? The house allotted to Krishna is in terrible shape, and requires extensive repair work to be made habitable again. Ditto for Tharoor, who has been put up in another five-star hotel in Lutyens’ Delhi. Krishna, the grapevine has it, maintains a low profile. He rarely ventures out to the hotel’s lobby or restaurants. This, some would say, is judicious behaviour considering the present hullabaloo over his comments on the Indo-Pak joint statement. But Tharoor is quite willing to mingle. He has already become the life and soul of the hotel’s popular coffee shop. What has surprised his critics is that despite all his troubles, Tharoor isn’t ready yet to drown his sorrows in a cup of coffee.

The rising

Which is the most important address in the political capital? Is it 10 Janpath, or 23 Mother Teresa Crescent, the present abode of Ahmad Patel, the political secretary to the Congress president? The answer, some would say, is 12 Tughlaq Road, from where Rahul Gandhi operates. It is becoming increasingly clear to partymen that Rahul Gandhi now has a say in most of the key decisions taken by the Congress. Be it the appointment of governors, the choice of Rajya Sabha candidates or the setting up of the Bundelkhand development authority, each decision was executed after the young general-secretary gave his nod to it. What’s more, unlike in the past, this transition has been largely free of bickerings within the party. Congressmen are heard admitting that this ‘sonrise’ has been a rather quiet affair.

Equal share

Moving on to news of a minor reshuffle, this time within the Union council of ministers. One hears that didi is keen to push through Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamul Congress into a ministry related to economic affairs. Taking a cue from Mamata Banerjee, the Congressman, Rajiv Shukla, is also lobbying hard to become a minister of state for parliamentary affairs. The experts say that the chances of Shukla’s success are brighter than those of Bandopadhyay’s. This is because Shukla has emerged as a successful troubleshooter for the party in the Upper House in recent times. When a row erupted over the withdrawal of security to top SP and BSP leaders, Shukla came to the Congress’s rescue by using his connections in Uttar Pradesh to bring about an amicable solution. Shukla is hoping to succeed Prithviraj Chauhan, the gen-sec in charge of poll-bound Haryana, who is also in charge of several ministries. Chauhan may be secretly wishing for Shukla’s success, if only to lower the burden of his responsibilities.

New name

Since the last elections, a number of politicians have alleged that the electronic voting machines can be tampered with, only to be refuted by the Election Commission. The Opposition may have given the EVMs a bad name, but Congressmen have, in gratitude, rechristened them as ‘Every Vote for Manmohan’.

FOOTNOTE

Far away from the battle

The brothers are up in arms again, and it is the government that is running for cover. Anil Ambani recently accused the petroleum ministry of colluding with elder brother, Mukesh, to deny him precious gas supplies, thereby throwing the government in a tizzy. Since then, most government bureaucrats have been busy meeting officers from the warring sides in a bid to defuse the situation. We hear that not just company officials but representatives of the petroleum, law and even finance ministry have been burning the midnight oil to find a solution to the feud.

But the man missing from the scene of action is none other than Amar Singh. Had he been around, and in perfect health, he would have made himself heard. But in his absence, his boss, Mulayam Singh Yadav, has taken over from where he had left. The Samajwadi Party leader stalled Parliament thrice over this issue. Mulayam may have bettered Amar’s performance, but will that lift the ailing Amar’s spirits?