Disappearing stones

PRIME Minister Vajpayee was uncharacteristically sharp while laying the foundation stone of the National Press Centre, accusing the media of habitually distorting news. Perhaps the PM thought he was entitled to criticise since his government after all was bestowing a Rs 30 crore press centre, even if no one seems quite sure what the institution is all about.

Referring to the past history of the press centre, Vajpayee joked that if construction work did not start immediately after the shilanyas then the project might never come about. Back in 1982 President Sanjiva Reddy inaugurated a similar project at 9 Rafi Marg the site of the United News of India (UNI) office, but the UNI news agency never actually vacated the plot and the foundation stone disappeared. In 1994 Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao laid yet another stone for a press centre this time at 5 Raisina Road, office of the Youth Congress. But the Youth Congress steadfastly refused to vacate, then YC president Maninder Singh Bitta promising to use physical violence if necessary to thwart attempts at ouster.

During Ram Jethamalani’s tenure as urban development minister he generously bestowed the government bungalow at No 7 Raisina Road to the Press Club of India. But his successor Jagmohan snatched it back, pointing out that the club already had a building. Now I&B minister Sushma Swaraj has commandeered the very same plot for the new press centre. She was in such a hurry for the inauguration ceremony that the minister of state Shripad Yesso Naik, who was living there was bundled out so speedily that he could not even remove all his belongings in time.

Knockout punch

EVEN before the showdown in South Africa, the BCCI and the ICC were already on a collision course. The CEO of the ICC Malcolm Speed was in New Delhi at that time and met senior finance ministry officials to plead that the Indians waive taxes for next year’s cricket knockout tournament which is to be held in India. The czar of Indian cricket, Jagmohan Dalmiya, did not take kindly to the fact that the ICC had met Indian bureaucrats without involving the BCCI and he conveyed to Indian officials that in future they should not grant appointments to the ICC without first clearing it with him.

If the ICC climbed down on the umpire’s strictures against cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, it was because it realised that it could ill afford to antagonise India as it is the host for next year’s knock out round.

Protocol problems

THE government’s protocol division was flabbergasted when defence minister George Fernandes, after a meeting with US admiral Dennis Blair at his South Block office last week, stepped into the American ambassador’s luxurious Lincoln limousine so that he could continue his conversation. It was a major protocol breach since the defence minister is not supposed to be travelling in his own country with another country’s flag flying over his car. American ambassador Robert Blackwill had little option but to get into one of the defence ministry’s vehicles. Actually, Fernandes often rattles protocol by his unconventional ways. When he travels by plane, Fernandes makes a point of sitting at the back in Y class, embarrassing his junior ministerial colleagues who travel J class. What is more, Fernandes insists on being frisked by security.

Instead of getting extra sensitive about what most consider trivial matters our protocol could gainfully pull up its own socks first. On the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the USA, the list of the official line-up for his ceremonial send-off still put Shyamal Dutta as IB chief, though he had demitted office six months ago.

Flunking out

SONIA Gandhi is entitled to an A for effort and persistence in learning Hindi. The same cannot be said of Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik who is a dropout from his elementary Oriya class. After nearly two years in office Patnaik has not progressed in his native tongue beyond Maa o bhuanimanaku mora namaskar (greetings to mothers and sisters). It seems that Patnaik’s longtime Oriya tutor Rajkishore Mishra, editor of the state government publication Orissa Review, has even stopped going for his token morning lessons at the chief minister’s residence. Patnaik is content to read his speech writer’s Oriya speeches from a Roman script, though his frequent mix-ups in pronunciation suggest that he is at times unaware of what he is reading.

Look who’s talking

SAMAJWADI Party MP Balram Singh Yadav feels that his boss Mulayam Singh Yadav is the last person to talk against POTO’s draconian provisions which could be misused against the government political opponents, when within Mulayam’s own party senior members are kept in total bondage. Balram Singh keeps criticising the party making statements that the SP has lost its Lohia mooring and that unsavory characters have surrounded Mulayam. But his leader refuses to expel him despite his rebellion since that would mean Balram Singh could circumvent the anti-defection law and leave the party. If Balram Singh quits on his own he has to forfeit his seat.

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