CRICKET,POLITICS AND THAROOR
Indian politics is often deep, dark and dirty. Indian Cricket is also very often no less of a cesspool. The two have begun to meet, merge and marry. The resulting mixture is therefore naturally toxic. It is into this mess that combines politics, players and power purse strings, that Shashi Tharoor decided to step in. As mentor for to the Cochin team, he may well claim that he was after all, only acting in his role as Member of Parliament. The southern state does not have a long history of cricketing passion. But now in his new role the gloves are all off. But in troops companion Sunanda who hails from Kashmir to Dubai via Canada and along comes OSD Jacob from Dubai coincidentally in the big investors who are mentored by Tharoor, to put serious money into the IPL new team are bidding from Dubai. This gang from Dubai has made Tharoor the main talking point of Delhi as no other junior minister has been in the last several years. Talking on a rude and offensive first strike by Lalit Modi has now opened up a can of worms that Tharoor with his United Nation’s experience could simply not have been prepared for. It didn’t help matters that Sunanda’s past too came under scrutiny. Sunanda has earlier only been seen in Delhi circles accompanying the Minister of State from gallery openings to smaller intimate gatherings.
Delhi was already curious about Shashi Tharoor’s personal life. It was now rivetted by this Kashmiri blonde on his arms. Fuelling Shashi’s ire at Modi’s revelation on Sunanda who magically appeared as a sweat equity holder in IPL winning Cochin bid was fuel to the fire in the form of OSD Jacob and his own set of tweets. The result of all this, a situation that Delhi has not experienced in recent times.
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CONGRESS IN DISSARAY
For a government that has been formed on a waifer thin margin and some alliances of convenience, the UPA has had a good run so far in its second tenure. But inevitably as we have seen in the past, the Prime Minister’s long foreign trips often throw up local fracases. His healing type of no comment while available, very often douses flames even before they become local conflagrations.
Digvijay’s comments from America, while on a personal visit, about Chidambaram’s anti-Maoist policy was one such. It showed the Congress ranks in disarray just a day before, and even during Parliament’s discussion on the Dantewada massacre. Because the two leaders are immensely senior and powerful, Delhi’s political pundits began to read subliminal messages and made multiple interpretations. Some of that, the party hopes will die down after the Parliamentary discussion on it. As if that is not enough to create nervousness in the Centre we also have a whole clutch of Union Ministers who have run out of their Rajya Sabha terms. They are of course hardworking and many are Ministers who deliver, so they have little reason to worry. Since all of them were also too nervous to attempt a Lok Sabha outing they are now dependent on the Congress high command. The constitutional point on whether they can survive as Ministers on expired Rajya Sabha seats is not yet tested. So, Ministry work proceeds nervously at best, while mantris keep a tentative hand on their kursis while signing files with the other. Some are even doing cross country official trips to woo states which may have spare Rajya Sabha capacities but whose Chief Ministers are nervous about accommodating outsiders. But all of this surely makes for a government that is nervous.
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POLITICS AND CELEBRATIONS
Amita Modi Singh’s party last week had guests from all walks of life. Amita had been planning this party for some time. It was a little late to celebrate her husband’s Sanjay Singh’s victory in Uttar Pradesh but never the less the party was full of people from different spheres. From Shiela Dikshit to Kapil Dev. One thing one gets to see in Delhi political parties is that M.P’s across party lines are there at their colleague’s house. Sanjay Singh’s youngest daughter Akansha played a gracious hostess with her mother. Bollywood stars are now more and more often in Delhi’s political parties. Jackie Shroff was a little uncomfortable wearing a suit in this heat. Nafisa Ali, Sangeeta Bijlani, Rudy Pratap Singh & Raj Babbar all had a great time here being their happy boisterous selves.
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