Penny wise, pound foolish

PRIME Minister Vajpayee’s visit to the Somnath temple in Gujarat was telecast live on the practically invisible DD news channel rather than on DD I simply to save some Rs 12 lakh worth of advertising revenue on the channel’s sponsored programmes. It had nothing to do with Prasar Bharati’s concern about upholding secular values. The PMO was furious since practically no one outside of Mandi House got to see the live coverage and shortly afterwards several DD employees, including the controller of programmes for the news and current affairs division, were transferred.

onsequently, on the Prime Minister’s three-nation tour, Doordarshan employees were on special alert to ensure that there was no cause for complaint. No expense was spared, a dozen DD employees were deployed for the visit and satellite time lavishly availed of for live coverage. On the day the PM spoke at the United Nations, as a safety precaution, satellite time was booked more than an hour-and-a-half in advance. The TV coverage of the tour has cost Prasar Bharati cost well over a crore particularly as DD was instructed to supply free footage to private TV channels which were not taken on the PM’s aircraft.

ronically, the PMO is unlikely to be grateful for DD’s extensive coverage and would probably have preferred a little judicious editing. Under the relentless gaze of the DD camera, the PM’s faltering gait and long pauses were very noticeable, particularly when contrasted with the lithe walk and quick responses of the younger world leaders.

Kiss of death

JYOTINDRA Jain, who set up the craft museum in New Delhi 17 years ago and built it up as an important landmark in the city, has moved to Jawaharlal Nehru University where he heads a newly created department of Art and Aesthetics. Without Jain’s inspired guidance there is a very real danger that the museum, sponsored by the textile ministry, might regress into just another unimaginatively-run government institution. Textile Minister Kashiram Rana has already demonstrated that he is more concerned about political patronage than aesthetics.

Three years back, Rana nominated party loyalists from his constituency to the managing body who were delighted by free trips to Delhi at government expense. The minister’s nominees contrasted poorly with other distinguished members on the board, such as Laila Tayebji, B N Goswami, Ashok Chatterjee and Rupika Chawla, who are knowledgeable about handicrafts. Jain’s replacement is a similarly uninspired choice. A joint development commissioner, handlooms, has been given additional charge of the museum.

Unwanted greeting

MANY parliamentarians are furious with the Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Nirupam who sent his fellow MPs an elaborate Diwali greeting card by e-mail. It is not so much the wording of the card which talks about the challenges from terrorism along with Diwali wishes or the illustrations which include Nirumpam’s photograph which is the irritant, as the fact that the card takes a good five minutes to download and Nirupam dispatched the card about a dozen times. The result is that the recipient’s computers were clogged for almost an hour downloading Nirumpam’s greetings!

Not quite cricket

WHEN he realised the clout that cricket commands, J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah got himself unanimously elected as the president of the state’s cricket board last month in place of Ajatashatru Singh, who held the position earlier in his capacity as the state sports minister. Abdullah has discovered that the easiest way to please Defence minister George Fernandes is to further the interests of Ajay Jadeja, who happens to be the son-in-law of former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley. Earlier, the state happily included Jadeja in its cricket team and now the state board has petitioned the BCCI that the five-year ban on the former national player be reduced.

Not cattle class

EARLY this year when the Shankacharya of Kanchipuram threatened to go on hunger strike in protest against the treatment of cattle in India, the government promised to set up a cattle commission to pacify him. Dharam Pal, an octogenarian once associated with Jai Prakash Narain, was appointed as the chairman. The commission was supposed to submit its report in a month, but Dharam Pal, who was resurrected from obscurity, is still engrossed in enhancing his own status rather than that of the cows. He even got an intermediary to speak on his behalf so that he could be elevated to the rank of a minister of state. Dharam Pal is clearly in no mood to terminate his benefits as chairman by actually producing the report.

Home front security

THE Intelligence Bureau (IB) dispatched a top secret circular this month to all state chief secretaries and directors-generals of police, spelling out the new security guidelines for home minister L K Advani.

Following IB reports of an increased threat to the home minister, Advani’s security has been put on par with that of the president and the prime minister. This means that traffic is halted whenever Advani’s motorcade is on the move and armed police personnel are posted along the entire route. Advani’s cavalcade has five cars and the last vehicle carries a Rs 85 lakh jammer which can freeze remote signals to ensure that nobody is able to blow any ammunition with remote control.

Earlier Columns