Off the record
The change of CM in Andhra Pradesh came at a time when AP Bhavan was distributing booklets on the one-year rule of the now former CM, K Rosaiah, which, ironically, was named 'The spirit lives on'.
At an arm's length
The change of CM in Andhra Pradesh came at a time when AP Bhavan was distributing booklets on the one-year rule of the now former CM, K Rosaiah, which, ironically, was named 'The spirit lives on'. The change also means that it'll be the new, younger Reddy watching you eat in the AP Bhavan canteen. As former CMs go into oblivion, so do their photographs. While Rosaiah's framed pictures were put in a dusty corner, those of Chandrababu Naidu found a place in a corner near a toilet. Unlike his predecessors YSR and Naidu, who were friendly with the media, Reddy is not known for having cordial relations with journalists. The media, which earlier had access to the CM's guesthouse, were banished to the gates of AP Bhavan. Reddy is also said to have turned down all requests for holding a formal press conference.
Caught in his sites
Beleaguered Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's threats of issuing state-wide advertisements on the "misdeeds" of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's family members has upset former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. "I will hang myself to death, but will never bow down to his threats," he says. BSY has hit back through advertisements alleging HDK had allotted many sites in Mysore to his family members when he was the CM. HDK has challenged BSY to confiscate such sites if they were illegal.
Trinamool's tunnel vision
Whether the issue is international or national, the Trinamool Congress can't see anything beyond a West Bengal perspective. Participants at an all-party meeting in Parliament to resolve the deadlock over the CAG report and the JPC demand were thrown off balance when Trinamool leader Sudeep Bandhopadhyaya suddenly began talking about the Bengal assembly. It took a moment for others to realise he was referring to an earlier incident of the state stalling a discussion on a CAG report that showed the Left Front government in poor light.
Nuts about coconuts
Certain habits keep many communist leaders in shape. And Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, going strong in his 80s, is no exception. Recently in Delhi to attend the central committee meeting, his aides had to ensure a steady dose of tender coconut water when the chief minister was attending the party meet at the AKG Bhavan. So they devised a way that no one else would see what the chief minister was having: they brought the tender coconut water in a thermos flask.
Real friends in deed
When Kiran Kumar Reddy became the Congress's new choice for Andhra Pradesh chief minister, the buzz in Hyderabad was that his good friend from Nizam College, former Indian cricket skipper Mohammed Azharuddin, had a role in putting in a good word for him to the party's high command. Reddy was the captain of the under-19 and under-25 teams and both have played a lot of cricket. Azharuddin made his debut as Congress MP from Moradabad last year.
Sushma's tweet feats
Sushma Swaraj launched her Twitter last week. She soon realised that it's the best way to keep the media informed of the impasse in Parliament over the 2G spectrum row. She made public on Twitter Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's latest attempt to find a way out. "Pranab Mukherjee spoke to me and Advaniji and told that the JPC was not possible," said one post while the second read: "We told Pranab Mukherjee that we could not give up the demand for JPC." Yet another post said details of the conversation were with Rajya Sabha deputy opposition leader SS Ahluwalia.