Did you read that ad in The Times of India? Or is it in The Indian Express or Deccan Chronicle? They are looking for a woman chief minister in West Bengal. If you come across any aspirant, write to Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. At least, let him know.
For 33 long years, Bengal was under the spell of Marxism that drove away the brainiest and the creamiest of Bengal. Industry after industry shifted from Bengal to other parts of India. No work and more pay was the maxim of the Marxists. But even without coming to power, Mamata Banerjee was able to drive Nano out of Bengal. Ever since she took over, rail accidents have been common – you can’t do two things at the same time, organizing agitations in Bengal and running the rail ministry in Delhi. So she left it to the drivers to run the train. And we are made to believe Buddhadeb is personally responsible for the recent rail mishap – engineered by him and executed by Naxalites!
In two things, Mamata excels: in passing the buck and organizing agitations. If Marxism died with Jyoti Basu paving the way for a Mamata government, can she govern without organizing agitations and passing the buck. Interesting days ahead, say Mamata-watchers.
Sneha Saloni
DEEPIKA PADUKONE AT CANNES
Deepika Padukone mesmerized the audience at Cannes and upstaged the more famous Aishwarya Rai by her appearance dressed in an Indian saree, according to fashion designers, foreign and Indian.
Says Rohit Bal, “As a designer who has been observing fashion for the last 25 years, I think the only superstar at this time at Cannes is going to be Deepika Padukone. There is nobody better than Deepika to break the rules and it’s going to attract a lot of attention.’’
Our man in China forgot he was a Union cabinet minister. What he spoke was music to Chinese ears, or at least part of it. Fortunately for him, he did not speak of Sikkim. Nor did he speak of Dalai Lama. The Chinese food and drinks seems to have taken its toll on the minister’s discretion.
Recall Jairam’s words: The Home ministry's policies towards Chinese companies looking to enter India were "alarmist" and "paranoid." In reply, the Home ministry clarified that any objections it has are company-specific, not country-specific.
The company in question was Huawei Technologies, a telecom equipment manufacturer lobbying to operate in India. Allowing the import and installation of equipment from Huwaei could pose a security challenge in the highly-sensitive telecom sector. The possibility of equipment being misused for espionage worries experts. But Jairam has no such worries.
Criticizing the government abroad is a breach of protocol, and showing scant regard for national security, to say the least, is not an act of patriotism. And above all, lobbying for the firm of a country that claims an entire Indian state (Arunachal) is disgusting.
Tail piece
(Also by the same Jairam Ramesh): India deserves Nobel for filth. Convocation gowns are barbaric
Nimit Agarwal (nimit.agarwal@gmail.com)
TRYST WITH CRICKET
Cricket never had it so good. The Modi cocktail of cricket, glamour and money got global attention. From a mere game ‘played by 11 players against 11 at 11’ cricket became a major investment avenue. Vijay Mallyas and Mukesh Ambanis are seen with Shah Rukh Khans and Preity Zintas, who were rubbing shoulders with Suchin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. IPL became the business model for Harvard and Wharton to study. All because of an Indian business czar called Lalit Modi.
The unmaking of Modi was that he rose spectacularly and instantaneously, so to speak. It is the law of nature that anybody who rises fast must fall, too, fast. It is a corollary of the law of gravitation which Newton forgot to add. In his short stint, Modi did make money – not just money but formidable enemies also. Perhaps too many powerful ones to manage in one life. At the moment, he is on his way to entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as one who sent the longest reply to a show-cause notice.
Modi comes from a business family that owns Modi Enterprises, a $1.5-billion chain of companies; and he is also on the board of Godfrey Philips, India's most successful tobacco company. His private life is as colourful as his public life. He married Minal, who was nine years his senior and already married with a daughter. He met her while studying in the US, visited London where she was living with her family, and got a divorce against his family’s disapproval. He has two children, Ruchir and Aliya, from Minal.
Modi’s tryst with cricket has all the making of a Shakespearean drama – ambition, jealousy, rivalry, hubris. It was with Vasundhara Raje’s help that he made his debut as president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association that gave Modi a seat on BCCI. In a power struggle that saw Sharad Pawar ousting Jagmohan Dalmiya in 2005, Modi batted for the former. And Modi, the brash upstart, became one of the youngest men to be vice-president of the BCCI. For his outspokenness – a euphemism for criticizing the powers that be – he was booted out of the Himachal Cricket Association by chief minister Dhumbar, who appointed his own son as president. But that was before he joined Rajasthan cricket.
Whether Modi stages a comeback or fades out of cricket, his impact on BCCI is indelible. The Modi episode cost the flamboyant Shashi Tharoor his job and Praful Patel his reputation. Modi is only the tip of an iceberg, the real villains are hiding in the BCCI and plotting against him. Whether Modi will be able to fix his detractors, or they will be able to fix him with charges of his money connection with arms lobby in the Gulf, is a game watched with equal interest as IPL cricket. Anyhow, we wish him good luck.
Aaheli Bagchi
