Parliamentarians, like everyone else in the country, are gripped by World Cup fever. During the cricket matches, MPs in Parliament’s Central Hall turned off the live coverage of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings on TV — which is the reason why the two sets are placed there — and switched to the sports channel. The Parliament Secretariat decided it was wise to bring in a third TV set exclusively for cricket viewing, otherwise the MPs might have simply gone home to watch the matches regardless of a lack of quorum in the House. A large parliamentary contingent, including Sports Minister Vikram Verma, Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Vijay Mallya, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Rajeev Shukla, Lalit Suri and Praful Patel, plan to fly to South Africa for the final. Sonia Gandhi confessed to journalists that she would have liked to witness the matches live, but for practical difficulties. Some politicians, keen for a free ride, have been egging Prime Minister Vajpayee to fly to Johannesburg. But the proposal was scuttled after it was found that the cost of commandeering a plane from Air India’s fleet would work out to over Rs 10 crore. Besides the security drill requires the SPG to make an advance trip a week beforehand and whether India makes it to the final can be known for certain only after the results of the semi-finals two days earlier. Food for Thought One would have thought our parliamentarians had no cause to complain about their canteen even if the prices were doubled a year back. Where else in India can you get a cup of coffee cup for one rupee, a plate of khichdi for Rs 3, a vegetarian thali for Rs 9.90, tandoori chicken for Rs 16.50 and a three course non-vegetarian meal including dessert and soup for Rs 33. But recently in Central Hall, some MPs were heard complaining about the standard of service of Parliament’s Railway Canteen. Someone jokingly remarked that Rajya Sabha MP Lalit Suri, who owns a hotel chain, should take over the job. The suggestion may have been made in jest, but Suri claims he is serious about his offer. Suri’s point is that if he manages subsidised meals for his staffers in his Intercontinental chain at Rs 12.50 per head he can do well for MPs. Besides, his bearers and crockery would import a five-star elegance to Parliament. Shrewd businessman that he is, Suri naturally expects the Rs 1.5 crore that the government pumps into the Railways to subsidise the parliamentary fare would come to him. Weighty Problem After several months of skipping high calorie foods and exercising, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, who has a weakness for sweets and fried food, is finding his discipline over diet beginning to slack. The Prime Minister, who lost a reported six kilograms in four months, has put on some of the weight he had shed. The kitchen staff at Race Course Road should be blamed for the setback since it feels it is duty bound to keep producing delicacies which the PM is fond of. Not the Retiring Sort Governors of five major states, Sunder Singh Bhandari in Gujarat, Suraj Bhan in Himachal Pradesh, Girish Saxena in Jammu and Kashmir, Bhai Mahavir in Madhya Pradesh, Lt General J.F.R. Jacob in Punjab and Justice Anshuman Singh in Rajasthan, are due to retire in April at the end of their five-year tenures. But the Vajpayee Government seems in no hurry to let them go. In J&K, the problem is finding a gubernatorial candidate who is acceptable to all sides. In other cases, the incumbents are not keen on moving out despite their advanced age. The 82-year-old Bhandari and the 80-year-old Mahavir who are backed by the RSS could well get temporary extensions. General Jacob, who is of the same vintage, may, however, not be so fortunate. Blessing in Disguise The controversy over the PMO press clarification that Vajpayee had not blessed Mayawati may have been a storm in a tea cup, but it indicates that there is an active anti-Mayawati lobby in the PM’s own backyard. Vajpayee had no idea that a statement was being issued by his secretariat denying that he had blessed Mayawati. He was simply asked whether there was any truth in her claim that the PM had blessed her during their meeting, to which Vajpayee replied that he hadn’t. Someone then suggested mischievously to the media officer that a press note to this effect would clear up any misunderstanding. Predictably, Mayawati hit a fuse when she saw the statement which suggested she was a liar. She pointed out that Vajpayee, during her meeting with him, urged her to continue to run the government effectively and that amounted to an ashirwad. The BJP’s UP unit was ordered the next day to clarify that the party felt that the Mayawati government was doing a great job.
