Unequal in death

NINE died on December 13 when armed terrorists tried to attack Parliament House, but only three of them have been awarded the Ashok Chakra gallantry award posthumously. There are no medals for the others for their bravery.

Ironically, the three Ashoka Chakra recipients were shot down accidentally during the exchange of fire as they happened to be positioned close to the scene of the action. But some of those who did not get awards fought heroically with their arms at the risk of their lives to prevent the terrorists from entering the building. One man even caught hold of the terrorist driver by the collar before he was shot.

This unfortunate dichotomy in conferring awards has arisen because the honours have been decided, not on individual case histories, but on who nominated the person. The three medal winners were from Parliament’s Watch and Ward staff, which is part of the Speaker’s office. It is but natural that the Speaker should press for their inclusion in the Republic Day honours list.

But should the other heroes who belonged to the CRPF, the Delhi Police and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha’s office be ignored simply because their superiors were not so well connected? In fact, when the request for nominating the three members of the Lok Sabha staff for the Ashoka Chakra was forwarded to the committee headed by the three forces chiefs, it was turned down since the civilian Ashoka Chakra is the equivalent of the Paramvir Chakra, which is bestowed only for extraordinary gallantry. But the Speaker, G M C Balayogi, had his way nonetheless.

Hapless victims

THE staff at Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan made every effort to ensure an enjoyable stay for Rahul Gandhi and his Colombian companion at the state government run resort last month. They were stunned, therefore, when immediately after the visit, the chief wildlife warden and the field director for the sanctuary were transferred.

Gandhi was reportedly irked because his female guest had been billed at the rate for foreigners which is much steeper than the fee for Indians. He felt that since he was the host, she shouldn’t be charged the extra amount. News of his displeasure was conveyed to the powers that be in the Congress-ruled state, who decided to demonstrate their loyalty by punishing the hapless wildlife staff.

Ironically, prior to this, a somewhat similar situation arose at the Ellora caves in Maharashtra, when the man at the ticket counter, unaware of who Rahul Gandhi was, insisted that he pay the foreigner’s rate.

Hindi signature

OF late, files sent by the Vajpayee government to Rashtrapati Bhavan which are in Hindi are returned with the President’s response in English duly translated into Hindi. President K R Narayanan also signs such files with a Hindi signature, which takes a special effort, since he is not very familiar with the script. Narayanan’s gesture has touched the Vajpayee government, which has by now a fairly cordial relationship with Rashtrapati Bhavan. In fact, Narayanan has made clear that if he stands again for the President’s job it will only be if he is elected unanimously.

Bofors link

A FORMER Swedish diplomat in Delhi, Rolf Gauffin, and his wife were arrested at the Delhi airport last December for allegedly smuggling Rs 5 crore worth of foreign currency. Gauffin is presently detained under COFEPOSA and the DRI suspects he was dealing in antiques. But nobody seems to have made the connection that Gauffin had figured prominently in the Indian press some years back for his links to the Bofors deal.

In 1986, Arun Nehru, then a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi, had spoken to Gauffin about the Howitzer deal and implied that the Swedes could bag the contract if they were discreet and acted through a single channel and not their usual agents.

Gauffin’s dispatches to his head office in Stockholm recounting the mysterious conversation was the first indication of Rajiv Gandhi’s personal interest in the matter.

Power centre

ALTHOUGH Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh had demanded some 60 tickets from the NDA quota for his Rashtriya Lok Dal party in the UP assembly elections, he finally settled for 37. Party workers grumble that Singh has been so accommodating towards the BJP because of an influential office bearer in the Dal, Anuradha Singh.

Although a fairly new entrant, Anuradha has become a major power centre in the party and she frequently accompanies the party president on the campaign trail. Some in Ajit’s party apprehend that she is a Kusum Rai in the making.

Tamilian twist

WHILE the pundits speculated whether the NDA was veering away from the DMK towards the AIADMK, nobody considered another angle to Tamil Nadu politic — the merger of the MGR ADMK with the BJP. Both major Dravidian parties are upset by this development as is the MDMK’s Vaiko, who thought he was the closest to the Vajpayee regime.

A reported condition for the merger is that Latha, a popular film actress senior to Jayalalithaa, who acted with both MGR and NTR, gets a Rajya Sabha seat. The real bone of contention will be the other condition, that the MGR ADMK leader Thirunavukkarasu gets a Cabinet berth in the next reshuffle.

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