Opinion Long regency

Eventful return?

Pervez Musharraf has announced that he plans to end his exile and return to Pakistan by the end of the month in time for the elections. In order to drum up some publicity for his visit,the former president has hired an event management website. The website has sent e-mails to journalists around the world suggesting they book their passage to Pakistan for the D-day. Clearly,the response was not as enthusiastic as Musharraf had hoped since he has subsequently been tweeting about air tickets to Pakistan still being available.

No longer waiting

A significant line in Narendra Modi’s speech at the recent BJP National Council meeting was,“Who is the candidate does not matter much in the BJP. We should keep the lotus at the forefront.” This was Modi’s indirect way of telling his detractors in the party that he is not going to continue to play the waiting game and cool his heels unless his name is formally announced as the prime ministerial candidate. Encouraged by the groundswell of support from cadres and state leaders,Modi has planned a series of public rallies throughout the country. In Mumbai,he is to speak at the Somaiya grounds in Sion,an even bigger ground than the Shivaji Stadium. The stop-Modi-at-any-cost campaign within a section of the party leadership had at one stage mooted the idea that Modi should not speak at the BJP National Council since it would be unfair to single him out among all the chief ministers. But they backtracked later sensing the mood of the cadres. L K Advani,who tried to project Sushma Swaraj and Shivraj Singh Chouhan as alternative leaders,got little response. In fact,by the time he spoke,many of the delegates had left the hall.

Suspicious Mamata

Mamata Banerjee was furious to learn that Mukul Roy had met a senior Congress functionary in Parliament recently and engaged in a long conversation. According to the TMC buzz,Roy was speaking about a CBI case on a land scam in West Bengal during the period when he was shipping minister.

Marital problem

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that he did not intend to get married in the near future have created problems in Veerappa Moily’s household. The Petroleum Minister was trying to persuade his son and daughter to get married and now they have cited Rahul’s example to buttress their decision to remain single a while longer.

Caesar’s wife

Jaya Bachchan feels let down that the BJP had backtracked on supporting the move for the ouster of P J Kurien as deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Bachchan’s point is that while Kurien’s guilt may not be proven in the Suryanelli sex scandal,“Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion”.

Fare criticism

At the BJP national executive last week,the Delhi unit was in charge of organisation and many grumbled about the arrangements. Ironically,Vijay Goel,who was recently made president of the Delhi BJP,had patted himself on the back for providing special fare from Chandni Chowk. But the chaat delicacies from the walled city and dosas took time to prepare and the queues for food were long and unruly. Many senior leaders went home to eat their lunch while others stayed hungry. Ironically,in his speech L K Advani focused attention on the inadequacy on the food front even while cautioning BJP workers not to announce it publicly. The next day,luncheon boxes were ready well in advance.