'You can fight to win leadership of a party, yet join party rivals to win a general election in the US. The fact that dissent is not rebellion is not really appreciated in India, where we are used to the 'High Command' culture,' says T V R Shenoy.
Narendra Modi, says T V R Shenoy, is 'busy trying to woo back two constituencies that were crucial when the BJP won power in the elections of 1998 and of 1999, namely UP (and the Hindi belt in general) and educated youth.'
What happened in Uttarakhand is a national tragedy. Why couldn't Dr Manmohan Singh announce that he was forming an Uttarakhand Relief and Rehabilitation Committee, with himself as chairman but inviting Narendra Modi to become the deputy chairman, asks T V R Shenoy.
'Nitish Kumar has reverted to the 1990s model. The besetting sin of this type of ministry formation was a fundamental insult to democracy,' argues T V R Shenoy. 'Not only did it not inform the voter who the prime ministerial candidate was, but it also gloried in keeping out the largest party in the Lok Sabha.'
Arvind Kejriwal accused Robert Vadra of participating in questionable land deals. Those were just allegations, but so are the crimes supposedly committed by Gurunath Meiyappan. But one is a businessman's son-in-law and the other is a politician's son-in-law. And so, predictably, they were treated differently by the politicians, says T V R Shenoy.
This mess is not limited to Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, but has spread to include other, more famous and better connected, both cricketers and non-cricketers. If so, we may never unearth all the facts. But in all seriousness we have to ask if match-fixing in cricket truly deserves this level of attention, asks T V R Shenoy.
Did the principal secretary to the prime minister authorise the controversial meeting a joint secretary at the PMO had at the CBI headquarters to discuss the coal scam report, asks T V R Shenoy.
'If the activities of the BJP government in Karnataka fostered dissidence, the Gadkari era saw the same sin crop up elsewhere, notably in Uttarakhand. (Both states would see multiple chief ministers in the course of five years.) Gadkari's leadership saw the BJP drift away from its moral moorings,' says TVR Shenoy.
'On April 30, the Supreme Court spoke on the need to further insulate the CBI from political interference. Come May 8, perhaps their Lordships could also extend protection to the law officers too -- simultaneously sending out the message that the Attorney General is much more than a professional doing his duty to the ministry of the day, that he owes a higher duty as an officer of the court,' says T V R Shenoy.
In over 47 years as a journalist in Delhi I have never seen a Union Cabinet that is scared of the CBI, it has always been the other way. But whether by happenstance or through deliberate design, the CBI now has the Manmohan Singh ministry at its mercy, reveals T V R Shenoy.
The Saudi leaders were willing to walk the extra mile to solve India's problem, but the external affairs ministry in New Delhi wanted to dawdle. Why did External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid not find time for his Saudi counterparts, and that too on a matter that is of great interest to Indians, asks T V R Shenoy.
The state of the economy which is in a far worse condition than the government wants us to know; the UPA's instability and the Robert Vadra factor may force a Lok Sabha election this winter, predicts T V R Shenoy
'We seem to be reliving the sleaziest days of the 1980s,' says T V R Shenoy. 'Defence purchases are made under controversial circumstances, and nobody is held accountable... Shoddy staffwork leads to suspects leaving India, and it is virtually impossible to lay hands on them again once they are out... The same shabby acts of commission and omission. The same stale excuses...'
'Once again we have a case where a European armaments manufacturer apparently paid bribes to win a contract from India. Once again we have an honest man in the ministry of defence. Once again there is talk of contracts being cancelled to wring the truth. As a student of history,' says T V R Shenoy, 'I can only draw parallels.'
If a party is indecisive while in the Opposition, what does it say about its capacity to govern effectively, asks T V R Shenoy.
The rape of the young woman on a Delhi bus has effectively halted all discussion of corruption. The talk of mistreatment of women has pushed the massive economic mismanagement, particularly of inflation, into a remote corner, says T V R Shenoy.
Mulayam has no options but to continue supporting the government -- while Mayawati reaps the benefits. Kudos to Kamal Nath but you wonder if Mulayam has been left stranded while his rivals float across the river, says T V R Shenoy.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party saved Dr Manmohan Singh's chair today; will they tug it away from under him tomorrow, asks T V R Shenoy.
'We need to celebrate those that buck the stereotype, such as Malala, Toorpekai, and Ziauddin Yousufzai in Pakistan. But, by the same token, we also need to condemn blind adherence to tradition in the urban, civilised areas of the West as in the case of Savita Halappanavar,' says T V R Shenoy.
'The Gadkari issue is not about staying on the right side of the law, it is about public perception. How does the public perceive Nitin Gadkari?' asks T V R Shenoy.
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