Study in contrast

The Quattrochis are in exile from Delhi as far as Ottavio and Maria go, but it has not stopped the kids from visiting the city they grew up in and love. Spotted in town last week and having a blow out with the Capital’s trendies was Massimo Quattrochi, the 35-something son of the Italian businessman.

BJP’s astro talk

As the announcement of BJP president Rajnath Singh’s new team threatened to take the spotlight away from the crucial Punjab and Uttarakhand polls to the in-party fracas, there was some quick fix solutions. Arun Jaitley, one of the main protagonists, apparently received an emissary beseeching him to bury the hatchet and get on with the party’s work. The person who reportedly met Jaitley is Sudhanshu Trivedi, a Rajnath Singh confidant, and is said to have explained that the decision to drop Jaitley as BJP’s chief national spokesperson was taken on the advice of an astrologer. The question now is: who is the influential astrologer?

In poll spirit

Elections are an expensive tab for political parties and the just concluded Punjab polls were no exception. At least one political leader was surprised to find out how much it costs to keep some sections of the electorate in the right ‘spirit’ ahead of the polls. When he asked how many bottles needed to be sent to a particular segment, he was simply told “one truck.” It turns out the booze is actually towed in trucks, and arrangements have to be made to send a truckload of liquor to each segment. Now we know why it’s called the Patiala Peg.

Baba buying

The BJP was openly contemptuous of the Congress’s closeness to the Dera Sachha Sauda during the Punjab polls but admit the sect’s influence could play a role in the Malwa area. The BJP’s attempts to woo the chief of the sect failed miserably, but the party was asked to contact the ‘Political Affairs Committee’ of the ‘Baba,’ chief of the sect. The meeting turned out to be illuminating. They were reportedly told the ‘Baba’ could not support any party but the Congress, the result of a trade-off between the two — as long as the ‘Baba’ supported the Congress he would be free, if he did not the CBI would be sent after him in connection with a pending case.

WT-in-law

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has admitted to the “mistake” his parents-in-law committed for travelling ticketless in AC First Class, when they had tickets for the cheaper Second Class Sleeper. But was it a vigilant railways authorities or the fact that BJP leader and Bihar’s Youth, Art and Culture Minister Janardan Sigriwal, who happened to occupy the adjacent coupe in the Sampark Kranti train, which fanned the furore? Sigriwal insists Rabri’s parents were caught without tickets not once but twice by the ticket officer, arrangements were even made to get both passengers off and send them by road, but after a delay of a good hour and 40 minutes, the couple were given the right tickets and allowed to travel to their destination.

Media overkill

The Congress’ high-powered team that carpet-bombed the media on the legal details for the dismissal of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was evidence enough that the orders had come right from the top. There were back-to-back meetings by Cabinet Minister Kapil Sibal, UPCC chief Salman Khursheed, and spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, all legal luminaries. However, it took a full 48 hours before the party reacted to the damning SC judgment, whereas the BSP and Mayawati were firing from all sides from Day 1. But when the leadership’s displeasure over inadequate coverage of the party’s position was known, there was an overkill. The all-powerful Political Secretary Ahmad Patel swiftly plugged the holes in the poor media management, assisted by Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla. Is Madam finally happy?

Time for makeover

Shiv Sena heir Uddhav Thackeray seems to be in for a sartorial makeover, courtesy his wife Rashmi. The Sena spouse is determined to give Uddhav a smarter look, and she arrived in Delhi last week, shopping for the Capital’s famed kurtas and pyjamas. “He needs better stuff for special occasions, particularly big Sena rallies, and Delhi’s kurtas and pyjamas are just exquisite,” she gushed happily. Is it national politics for the Mumbai manoos soon?

Behind Baglihar

It was J Harinarayana, present Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, who was Secretary, Water Resources at the Centre, who pitched hard for the Baglihar project, until he opted to go back to AP after some differences with Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz last year. It is learnt that jurist Fali Nariman called up the Prime Minister and told him that Harinaryana was doing a fantastic job and needed to continue with Baglihar case — which is why Harinarayana continued to be associated with the Baglihar case even while he was the CS of AP. No wonder the bureaucrat earned bad press back home as he appeared to be spending more time on issues that did not concern the state.

Ripple effect

The ripple effect from Shiv Shankar Menon’s appointment as Foreign Secretary last August has spilled into this year. Veena Sikri, India’s former high commissioner to Bangladesh and one of the 16 foreign service officers Menon superseded to become Foreign Secretary had decided to go on long leave almost immediately. But, it does not seem to be the end of the matter. Sikri now wants to be compensated for being superseded. Apparently she has now asked for a plum posting at the UN permanent mission in return for continuing in the diplomatic service.

Filling in the gap

For quite sometime now, the Cabinet Secretariat has been baffled by incomplete proposals prepared by experienced bureaucrats in different ministries for consideration by the Cabinet. So the secretariat decided to don the mantle of a teacher and has begun giving lessons to all ministries on how to prepare error-free proposals. In a sharply worded letter, the ministries have been told that sectoral policies and statements must be accompanied by “action plans with clearly identifiable timelines” as it would help in clarifying the policy aims and objectives. The secretariat is convinced that unless these norms are adhered to, effective monitoring of implementation will not be possible.

One for Mahatma

At last, a populist scheme in the name of the Mahatma. After the dozens of developmental initiatives taken by the UPA government named after Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi (however, India’s first prime minister has been honoured with only one scheme — the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission whereas his grandson’s name prefixes the entire lot, from the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes doctoral candidates, Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas, etc etc. Now there is not only a Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalalyas scheme, the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), has now been renamed by the PMO as Mahatma Gandhi Backward Regions Grant Fund (MGBRGF). The PM will launch it in Assam on February 19.

Rademaker puzzle

India is still trying to figure out US diplomat Stephen Rademaker. He is no longer part of the Bush team, but as a member he was certainly blinded to the Indo-US civilian nuke deal because of his non-proliferation concerns. Then, suddenly he became a pro-deal man and eventually a job with India’s official lobbyist Barbour, Griffith and Rogers. Now he shows up at an IDSA seminar and makes the politically wrong off-the-cuff comment about how India was “coerced” to vote against Iran. South Block is upset and BGR got an earful from the Indian Embassy in Washington, forcing Rademaker to issue clarifications to media reports. New Delhi is left wondering if he should be on board for the last leg of the N-deal.

Tailpiece

On the occasion of Abhay Chautala’s birthday, younger son of former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala, his admirers showered him with choice praises, from “Shan-e-Haryana” (Pride of Haryana), “Great Son of Soil” and “Heartthrob of Youth.” But it was this gem that took the prize — Khel Ratna. And pray how did he get this title? Abhay is no record-holder of any sport, he just happens to be the president of the Indian Boxing Federation and chairman of the Haryana Olympic Association.