Mamata Bannerjee is not the only union minister who views Delhi as a stop over and not her main destination. The DMK’s M K Azhagiri spends more time in Madurai than in Delhi. Azhagiri is basically an organisation man who is accustomed to people-to-people contact and back in Tamil Nadu he attends weddings and funerals almost daily. In Delhi, instead he has to listen to lengthy briefings by officials from the Fertilizer and Chemicals Ministries. He is still getting used to the technical terms. For instance, he was taken aback to find a bureaucrat constantly use the phrase “fertilizer security”. Puzzled, he asked why fertilizers required security. Perhaps for him security means only the Black Cats who provide protection to his father, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Changing its mind

Members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a US government body, have been denied visas to visit India since 2002. After an informal agreement with the Indian government, the commission’s visit to India was finally fixed for June 12. At the last minute the trip was cancelled since visas were not granted. The commission had already indicated in its report to the US Congress that it wanted to investigate the status of religious freedom in Gujarat and Orissa. Since the commission’s findings could only have embarrassed opposition parties like the BJP and the BKD, and except for Cuba most countries have granted the commission access, some found the Indian government’s position rather puzzling. Could it be the fact that L K Advani took up the issue with Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon that led to the last minute denial of visas?

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