MK Nair is on the radar in Coalgate scam and it is said that the investigating agency quizzed him twice in the last one month. When Manmohan Singh was looking after the ministry of coal, Nair was his Principal Secretary. At that time, many coal blocks were allotted, which are now being investigated
Problems of the officials posted at the PMO during Manmohan Singh’s regime are going up day by day. MK Narayanan, who was the National Security Advisor (NSA) in Manmohan Government, and TKA Nair, who was the Principal Secretary and later advisor to the previous PM, may face the heat.
Recently, the CBI quizzed Narayanan — who was till recently the Governor of West Bengal — in AgustaWestland scam. This was the first time that the investigating agency went to any Raj Bhawan to question a Governor.
Nair is on the radar in Coalgate scam and it is said that the investigating agency quizzed him twice in the last one month. When Manmohan Singh was looking after the ministry of coal, Nair was his Principal Secretary. At that time, many coal blocks were allotted, which are now being investigated.
Governors ESl Narasimhan and BV Wanchoo were also interrogated, following which the former put in his papers.
CONG VETERANS TO OVERSEE STATES
The veteran leaders of the Congress will be sent to supervise politics in States. It is said that Rahul Gandhi wants the party to be strengthened in States. Reliable sources in the Congress said Rahul can give the command of the party in a particular State to the seniors who were once considered kshatrapas. Apart from this, it has also been decided that all senior leaders will visit the States at regular intervals.
The sources said when the party was in power, a strategy had been devised that Central ministers would address the press conferences in State capitals to inform people about Government schemes. The same strategy is being followed now and senior leaders will go to States to tell people about the Government’s failure and explain the schemes launched by the Congress. The leaders will address press conferences at the party headquarters in the State capital. Some old veterans can be made PCC presidents too. Rahul wants the Congressmen sitting in Delhi to indulge in active politics in States.
NEW TICKET DISTRIBUTION FORMUlA
The national president of the BJP has devised his own formula to distribute tickets for 12 seats in UP by-elections. He doesn’t want too many applicants or chaos. For this, he has decided not to give tickets to party officials. If any party official wants ticket, he must first resign.
The second standard is that relatives of MPs who were MlAs will not get tickets. This is to keep in mind that now 11 out of the 12 seats where by-elections are scheduled belong to the BJP and one seat to Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal. So, MlAs who won in the last lok Sabha Elections and became MPs want to manipulate their seats for relatives. But Shah is not in favour of this; he wants to give tickets to other party workers. Due to this formula, the rush will automatically be reduced. Party leaders feel this formula will be implemented in future elections also.
RUSH TO join BJP in West bengal
In West Bengal, thousands of workers of the Congress, CPM and TMC are making a beeline for the BJP. The BJP inducted around 50,000 people in the party in one day, and claims that on an average around 7,500 workers are joining every day. It seems that right from Kolkata to Jungle Mahal, there is competition among workers to join the BJP.
But the big leaders of other parties are not in the race. They are going to the TMC. On Monday, three Congress MlAs and one MlA of CPM joined TMC in the presence of Mamata Banerjee. The leaders from these two parties have joined TMC even earlier and have become ministers. But this time, they are not going for minister post but are apparently mesmerised by the overwhelming performance of the TMC in lok Sabha Elections.
ONlY CONGRESS WIll REMAIN IN UPA
The Congress clan is in a dilapidated condition. On one hand there is infighting in the party and on the other its alliance partners are parting ways after enjoying 10 years of power. Omar Abdullah continued as CM of Jammu and Kashmir for six years even when the PDP and Congress had an arrangement to change the CM after three years. But Rahul changed the rules due to his friendship with Omar. However, now Omar’s party has deserted the Congress.
The NCP has been an alliance partner of the Congress in Maharashtra for the past 15 years, and for 10 years at the Centre. But now it is gearing up to fight the elections alone. NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has instructed his party men to be prepared for a fight on all seats.
RJD, the alliance partner of the Congress in Bihar, has befriended the JDU and will fight by-elections for 10 seats. In Jharkhand, some of the leaders of Congress are in talks with Babulal Marandi’s JVM. It means that the Congress is running the Government with the JMM, but for the next elections seeing a chance with the JVM.
SIlENCE IN CONGress WAR ROOM
It seems that even after two months of lok Sabha election results, the Congress is in trauma. There is a sense of indifference in the party and works are still stuck. When Rahul became active in the Congress, the party had faced a bizarre decentralisation of power. Apart from Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road, many centres of power had come up. The Congress war room is at 15 Gurudwara Rakabganj Road and there is a mini war room at Rahul’s residence 12 Tughlaq lane. Many decisions are taken from Sonia’s residence at 10 Janpath. There is one more power centre of Congress — 23, Wellington Crescent — which is the residence of Ahmed Patel. But a complete silence is prevailing everywhere.
Of course, old veterans of the Congress and journalists can be seen at Congress HQ, and leaders from States keep coming and going, but there is not much activity on the political front. Jairam Ramesh regularly went to go to the Congress war room, but not now. leaders like Suresh Pachauri and Tom Vadakkan still go there but there is no strategic activity.
Madhusudan Mistry also doesn’t go to the war room and keeps aloof. He is busy scrutinising the probable candidates for Assembly Elections in four States and reports to Rahul directly. Earlier, meetings were held at Rahul’s residence but this has become a tale of the past. Parliament is in session, so at least the parliamentary office of the party sees some activity.