Left hands compliment

and would go entirely by his advice. CPI leader A B Bardhan, known for his caustic comments on TV, practically simpers when talking to the Congress president. The Forward Bloc’s, Debabrata Biswas, was walking on air after he had a 20-minute meeting with Sonia. He would have been lucky to get half that time with a CPI(M) bigwig.

Power(ful) Monty

The Planning Commission issued a statement praising the Finance Ministry for hiking the Credit Reserve Ratio (CRR) in banks. Which seems a bit like giving a pat to itself, considering that it was Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwallia who, at a Cabinet committee meeting on prices, made the point that the government could not control inflation only by slashing duty on commodities and had to also take steps to reduce the money supply in the market. Another key economic decision which emanated, not from the Finance Ministry but from the Planning Commission, was the PM’s recent announcement that there should be no artificial barriers for the movement of essential goods between States.

If Brajesh Misha was described as the second most powerful man in the last government, Ahluwallia, who once worked under Singh as his Finance Secretary, is considered the PM’s eyes and ears in this government. If in the last government it was the PMO which initiated a large number of policy decisions and not the concerned ministries, now it is the Planning Commission which calls the shots. Ministries which once acted rather superciliously towards the Planning Commission are treating it with new-found respect, bordering on awe.

Learning to forget

Unlike the French Royal dynasty, the Bourbons, about whom it was said they never remembered anything and never forgot anything, Tamil Nadu’s modern-day empress, Jayalalitha, has learnt from past mistakes. She not only withdrew the 20-odd cases she had registered against the Hindu newspaper but recently invited the newspaper editor, N Ram, to her office so that they could smoke the peace pipe. Ram says he now considers that the slate has been wiped clean of past animosities. In fact the new-found bonhomie is such that Jayalalitha is considering writing an occasional column for the newspaper on matters of national interest.

Axed from Ex-Club

A noteworthy feature of the function to release former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s compilation of writings in his Young India magazine last week was the guest list. Former Prime Ministers A B Vajpayee and I K Gujral were on the dais and though P V Narsimha Rao could not attend because of ill health he had written the foreward to the book and Shekhar made an affectionate reference to him in his speech. On the other hand, two former PMs once in the same party as Shekhar, V P Singh and H D Deve Gowda, were missing.

A day later Gowda had a dinner for the Nepalese Prime Minister at which Singh was the only other ex-PM present. Surprisingly, two old socialists and comrades in arms of Shekhar, Madhu Dandavate and Surendra Mohan, were spotted at Gowda’s dinner though not at Shekhar’s book release. The biggest surprise was the presence of Sharad Pawar who insisted on sitting in the middle-row throughout Chandra Shekhar’s function although the organisers urged him to move to the front. (Pawar stuck out similarly at P C Alexander’s book release where he was the only UPA member.)

Shekhar, in his speech, made the point that though he has had longstanding political differences with Vajpayee and Gujral he shared a warm personal relationship with both and in this context took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by referring to present-day politicians who ignored social niceties in dealing with their political opponents. Shekhar noted that even when Gujral was a minister in Mrs Gandhi’s government and he a rebel Congressmen, Gujral was always helpful. He was equally full of praise for Pawar, which will not endear the Maratha leader to his Congress allies.

Wistful Note

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was envious of the smooth manner in which the proceedings of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which met in Canada, was conducted. Chatterjee sent a note to the Indian MPs present at the gathering, observing that it would be wonderful if he was allowed to conduct the Indian Parliament without constant interruptions and din. He received a reply pointing out that he should thanks his stars that Ramdas Athawale, the stormy petrel of the RPI, was not a member of the delegation or else peace at this august gathering might also have been shattered.

Package deal

A BJP leader was asked who the party would prefer as Maharashtra’s chief ministerial candidate in case the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance came to power in the State. ‘‘I personally would prefer Uddhav Thackerey,’’ he quipped, ‘‘that way the TV set and remote control would come in the same package.’’