Missed photo op

MANY news photographers aspired for the scoop photograph of the first snapshot of Priyanka Gandhi’s son Rehan Vadra. But when the 18-month-old finally made his first public appearance the photographers’ fraternity was caught napping. Priyanka took her son to the Republic Day parade this year and he was very visible in the VIP enclosure. Rehan first sat on his naani Sonia Gandhi’s lap, then his uncle Rahul took over the baby. Since the playful boy was restive and wanted to walk around the enclosure, Priyanka finally sat with her son on the durrie in front.

Kicking themselves for having blown the opportunity, cameramen blamed the security set-up for positioning them at such a distance from the VIP enclosure. But considering they all possess telephoto lens an observant photographer could have easily clicked the scoop shot. The next day the Congress party complained that Doordarshan had blacked out Sonia, forgetting that even private television channels did not manage to click her.

Slip not shown

DESPITE two operations by Dr Ranawat, the Prime Minister’s knees are not quite back to normal. Vajpayee walks rather stiffly without bending his knees. On the Republic Day at home by the President, Vajpayee moved forward to greet the home minister’s wife Kamala Advani when suddenly he tottered and temporarily lost his balance.

He was prevented from toppling over by Advani’s son Jayant and minister of state Harin Pathak, while his SPG bodyguard caught hold of him from behind. The Prime Minister laughed good naturedly over his near fall and indicated ruefully that the cameramen present were likely to make the most of the opportunity. But the photographers present obviously decided that the occasion did not warrant the need to publicise the near slip.

Communication gap

MINISTER of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah was at the FICCI auditorium for a business conference when he noticed a battery of television cameramen and a crowd of journalists waiting outside for him. Abdullah is popular with the media since he is articulate, accessible and photogenic, but in this case he was at a loss trying to figure out why the foreign and international press corps were so keen on a sound byte. The quick witted Abdullah asked his aides to find out the reason for the media excitement and only then learnt that the new version of the Agni missile had just been launched.

Surely, defence minister George Fernandes could have taken his ministerial colleagues into confidence about the test firing considering that the Pakistan government had been alerted a fortnight before the date of the launch and international airlines and ships had received prior warning. The Defence Ministry’s communication network was so slack that the first news reports of the Agni launch declared that it had a range of 2,500 kilometres which seemed to suggest that China was in its arc.

It was only later that the MEA clarified that the missile range was only 700 kilometres, which would only reach Pakistan. The information mix-up was because Fernandes and those connected with the missile launch were away in Chandipur, Orissa, and there was no one left in Delhi to answer questions.

Burying the coffin scandal

AT the President’s Republic Day at home, George Fernandes did not appreciate a newsman cross-questioning him as to whether he had any links with R V Pandit. A few days earlier, Pandit, a publisher and journalist describing himself as a private citizen campaigning to establish the truth, had held a press conference exonerating the defence ministry in the purchase of aluminum caskets, for which the CAG had indicted the ministry.

Responding to Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy’s allegation that it was Fernandes himself who had leaked the information to Pandit, Fernandes muttered that those who doubted his integrity could bury themselves in the coffins. (Actually Fernandes was scheduled to speak on the coffin sale purchase on December 13 in Parliament in reply to the Opposition charges, but his reply got derailed after the terrorist attack that day.)

Pandit at his news conference displayed the various models of coffins considered for purchase and provided confidential information concerning the run-up to the purchase. He even obtained a letter from Army chief General S.Padmanabhan vouching for the correctness of his documentation. The problem is that Pandit has now placed all his documents on the website including Padmanabhan’s letter under the title ‘The CAG must go’, to the embarrassment of the army chief.

Messenger gets the kudos

GUJARAT Chief Minister Narendra Modi along with a high-level team of ministers and officials concerned with earthquake relief visited Delhi last week to meet the Prime Minister. An audio-visual presentation was shown to Vajpayee at Race Course Road to illustrate the remarkable recovery by the state in the one year since the Kutch tragedy.

The appreciative Prime Minister congratulated the members of the private advertising firm which had put together the audio visual, but in the bargain he forgot to express appreciation for the team from the state which had struggled through the year over the actual relief work!

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