Actor Chiranjeevi is convinced that eight is his lucky number. He tries to ensure that the number eight figures in all aspects of his life, whether it is his telephone numbers or car number plates. Either the numbers he selects have a series of eights or the figure totals eight. The date for the launch of his Prajarajyam party in Tirupati was carefully chosen for August 26. This is because August is the eighth month, the year is 2008 and the date adds up to eight. The dais for his party launch was octagonal in shape. When Chiranjeevi applied to the Election Commission for recognition of his party, EC staffers were puzzled since although 100 applications from party workers are required under the rules, Chiranjeevi submitted only 88 forms. However, in a second instalment he produced 17 additional applications (1 +7), though he was required to submit only 12 more forms.Not to be silencedTill the very last moment President Musharraf was unsure whether his dramatic resignation speech would be blacked out by PTV. After the new government took over in Pakistan, the PPP’s Sherry Rehman was appointed information minister. Overnight, Musharraf’s longstanding clout with the state-owned television channel evaporated. In fact, on the eve of Pakistan’s Independence Day, Musharraf’s presidential address to the nation was not broadcast by PTV as is customary. PTV opted instead for a speech by the Pakistan army chief.Pakistan authorities, suspicious of just what the General might say in his farewell address, instructed PTV not to cover Musharraf’s speech live. They wanted the channel to carry extracts of the taped speech only after Musharraf had left the country. Musharraf, however, succeeded in outsmarting Asif Zardari. He contacted two small private TV companies in Pakistan, Eastern Television Network (EIN) and Sama, and offered them the chance to cover his address. Musharraf knew that once his speech was telecast on any channel, however small, the international media, including India’s numerous television channels, would pick it up and flash it. PTV had no option but to reluctantly telecast the entire speech. To ignore it would have caused much embarrassment.Maira sets an exampleThough she is still a tiny tot, the Gandhi family can learn a lesson or two in Indian etiquette from Priyanka Vadra’s daughter, Maira. At the Shakti Sthal to observe the birth anniversary of her grandfather Rajiv Gandhi earlier this month, the youngest member of the Gandhi clan noticed that the SPG guards had removed their shoes while walking to the mats for the prayers. Maira promptly did the same and carried her sandals in her hand. The rest of the family, Sonia, Priyanka, Rahul, Robert and Rehan, struck a discordant note by not removing their footwear.Neighbourhood watchLalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar blame each other’s respective governments for the poor maintenance of the Kosi barrage, which resulted in a breach this month and unprecedented floods in north Bihar. The tragedy is also due partly to the anarchical conditions prevailing in Nepal, with the government still in a state of flux. The dam is located in Nepal, but according to the treaty governing the dam, the maintenance is India’s responsibility and the actual repair work is to be handled by the Bihar state government. However, when a team of engineers from Patna tried to reach the dam site on August 10, after receiving reports that the structure was in a precarious position, their car was stoned by the public and the Indians had to turn back. There was no one in authority in Nepal who could control the rampaging mob.Home truthsGujarat Home Minister Amit Shah telephoned Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to request that Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta speak to his counterpart in UP to request permission to detain the alleged kingpin in the Ahmedabad blasts, Mufti Abu Bashir, in the state, without initially arresting him. The police believe that this way it is easier to get the truth from suspected terrorists. UP Chief Minister Mayawati, however, insisted that Bashir had to be formally charged first and not simply picked up for questioning. Patil, while congratulating Shah for the state police’s headway in the case, added the rider that he hoped that the evidence was authentic. He declined to intervene and speak to Mayawati on behalf of Gujarat.
