The Advani Connection

Ominous Portents

Opposition parties are busy discussing a strange coincidence associated with the Lokpal Bills of the past. In the last 43 years,the Lokpal Bill has been introduced in Parliament on as many as eight occasions and every time,it is being pointed out,it has been accompanied by political upheaval. The 1968 Lokpal Bill was followed by the 1969 split in the Congress while the 1971 Bill got overtaken by the Bangladesh liberation war. In 1977,1985,1989 and 1996,the government that introduced the Bill in Parliament did not survive the next elections. In 1998 again,the NDA government fell months after putting the Lokpal Bill in Parliament. It won the next general elections though and brought the Bill again in 2001 but did not survive the next elections. Not surprisingly,the Opposition has already started predicting the fall of the UPA government at the next elections.

Premature Plea

WILL the Monsoon Session of Parliament end two days early? The buzz is that Kerala MPs are lobbying to get the session adjourned sine die on September 6 so that they can head for their hometowns to celebrate Onam. The four-day festival begins on September 8,the day the Monsoon Session is scheduled to end. The plea from Kerala MPs is that since the impeachment proceeding against Justice Soumitra Sen is also slated to be completed on September 6,there is no big hurdle in bringing an early end to the session.

The Missing Yadav

AMIDST the attack launched by Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad in Parliament on Saturday,the absence of the third Yadav who formed the once-formidable trio,Mulayam Singh,was noticed by many. Mulayam missed the day’s proceedings as he was in Lucknow to host his Iftaar party. Some MPs were of the view that it would have been interesting to listen to Mulayam’s view on Anna Hazare’s agitation on the Lokpal Bill. Mulayam is said to have been in constant touch with his party MPs to keep track of the fast-moving political developments in connection with Hazare’s fast.

Team Building

WHILE Pulok Chatterjee is to join as the Prime Minister’s next Principal Secretary only on October 1,he is said to have begun the exercise of building his team in the PMO. One key selection has already been made — that of R Ramanujam,currently serving in Madhya Pradesh’s revenue department — to fill the position vacated by M N Prasad,Secretary to the Prime Minister. The position has been scaled down to the level of Additional Secretary. Amongst other tasks,Ramanujam,a 1979-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre,would look after the crucial Appointments Committee of the Cabinet which makes all high-level appointments. Ramanujam has ample experience in the PMO,having served there as Director and then Joint Secretary between 1997 and 2000. He has also served as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Personnel,Public Grievances and Pension.