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| In a different spirit |
A three-day fast in one’s 60s does not seem like a sound idea, though the septuagenarian Anna Hazare would beg to differ. But the supporters of the Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi, are not particularly worried about their beloved leader’s 72-hour fast. They have pointed out that fasting is an integral feature of Gujarati culture, and apparently, of Modi’s life as well. In the temple towns all over the state, it is a common enough practice. In fact, it would be hard to find a Gujarati woman who has never fasted in her life. Modi himself comes from a family of grocers who are known for their religious fervour. So, keeping his hands off food is no big deal for this Hindutva mascot. Sources close to the CM also claim that he has been fasting during Navratri for years now. And according to a recent book on Modi, the man was always destined for the life of the spirit. It is said that a holy man, who had seen the young Modi’s horoscope, had once professed, “If this boy gets into politics, he would be as powerful as an emperor, or else, he may become a sanyasi, and eventually turn out to be like the Shankaracharya.” It’s difficult to predict which way Modi is headed.
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The Union environment and forest minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, is perplexed by the way journalists covering her ministry have all deflected to the ministry of rural development. When she took over her job, dozens of correspondents from the print and the electronic media were swarming on the environment and forest beat. Now most of them are busy filing reports on rural development, which, they say, generates more stories. It seems Jairam Ramesh took away a section of the media with him when he shifted to Krishi Bhavan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, Nirmala Sitharaman, is climbing up the ladder fast. This alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University starts her day by scanning all the major newspapers. By breakfast, she gets busy calling up senior leaders and briefing them about the coverage of the party. Nirmala then drives down to 11 Ashoka Road for another round of consultation with the BJP office-bearers. She keeps in touch with top leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh regularly. In the evening, Nirmala is usually spotted in the studio of a news channel. Her discipline and commitment are earning all-round praise in the BJP, while her fellow spokespersons, Shahnawaz Hussain and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, are now facing stiff competition from a junior colleague.
Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy is a disappointed man these days. Jagan had arrived at the national capital, hoping to catch the BJP’s attention. But in the post-Anna Hazare scenario, the main opposition party was less than enthusiastic about opening doors to a man who has been raided by both the income tax department and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Already embarrassed over Bellary’s Reddy brothers, the BJP leadership chose to maintain a safe distance from Jagan. As a result, the YSR Congress chief did not manage to get an audience with any senior BJP leader. Since then, poor Jagan has gone back to flaunting his secular ideals and saying that while he did not wish to return to the Congress, he was willing to join the United Progressive Alliance collective.
For several years, the Union government has been stressing the need for renewable energy. However, members of parliament have nothing but complaints to offer in this regard. Recently, some MPs in the Lok Sabha took a dig at the minister of renewable energy, Farooq Abdullah. They claimed that the solar power plants installed on the roof of their official residences were not even good enough to heat a glass of water and demanded action to prevent this wasteful expenditure. A helpless Abdullah clarified that the responsibility for installing and maintaining these power plants lay with the central public works department. He promised to ask the department to look into the grievances if the members sent him written complaints.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari is taking an interest in starting a channel for the Rajya Sabha based on the model of Lok Sabha TV. The idea is to create a channel that will compete at par with private news channels in the prime-time segment.
Footnote
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Bollywood’s bad boy, Salman Khan, may not be ‘good friends’ with Katrina Kaif any more, but he is still her Mr Dependable. During her recent London trip, Kat turned for help to Sallu, who was more than willing to be useful. Katrina had landed in London from Abu Dhabi, where she had gone to attend a promotional. Her driver in London seemed to know nothing about the city. So, after being driven around for an hour and a half, with her destination still nowhere in sight, Katrina panicked and called her old friend, who was shooting for Kabir Khan’s Ek tha Tiger. A car was quickly dispatched to take Katrina to the hotel where Salman was staying. And for the rest of her stay, Katrina used the taxi arranged by Salman, ostensibly on the ground that the chauffeur knew London roads well.
