Defence Minister A K Antony was to preside over the opening of the coast guard command office at Gandhinagar on October 3. As chief minister of the state, Narendra Modi was expected to be present but when Modi discovered that his name was not on the invitation, he declined to attend unless the card carried his name. He called it an insult to the people of Gujarat. When Antony learnt that the CM would not be attending the inauguration, he too backed out. Since there was no time to print fresh invitations, the function was postponed.

Between the lines

For propriety’s sake President Pratibha Patil has kept away from Maharashtra since her son Rajendra Shekhawat is a Congress candidate from the Amravati assembly constituency. Nevertheless, her name has cropped up in the campaign. A local Congress leader Bhau Saheb Dhera claimed in a campaign speech that the President was responsible for getting two additional trains to halt at Amravati and reviving the defunct Finlay Mills. Shekhawat, more discreet, does not mention his mother’s name but he does take credit for these two achievements without explaining why.

Home truths

National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Home Minister P Chidambaram barely exchange a word at the Home Minister’s morning meeting at which intelligence heads give their daily briefing. Another indication of a somewhat cold relationship is the fact that the NSA is at pains to make clear that policies on terrorism and fighting Naxalism have been framed not by the Home Ministry alone but by the Government of India.

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