Niira Radia’s Vaishnavi Communications may well have formally shut shop, but it is heard that the company has been bought over by Mukesh Ambani. Most of those working with Vaishnavi have gone to work for Mukesh. Several big journalists from electronic media, who have until now been obliged by the company are now ready to please Mukesh Ambani, too.

The editor and the owner of a sharp English daily recently bought an apartment on Park Lane, one of the most expensive parts of London. It is believed that Mr editor, who is a pro at unearthing other people’s secrets, bought this expensive apartment in London as a birthday gift to his son. IT is also heard that the payment for the apartment has been done by a leading corporate house of India.

Advani’s favourite Sudheendra Kulkarni has already been released from jail in connection with the cash for vote scam. Now it is time for him to shake off his heavy political mantle, too. While Kulkarni hails from the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, his relations with Maharashtra run deeper. His doctor wife and family still live in Mumbai. So Kulkarni is pretty excited that the BJP has decided to bring him to Rajya Sabha, that too from Maharashtra. Kulkarni owes it to both Gadkari and Advani.

Maulik Nanavati, the son of Justice Nanavati, who is investigating the Gujarat riots is reaping big benefits. He gets Rs 2 lakh per day for appearing in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Gujarat government. And the hearings take place at least twice to thrice a week. So he easily manages to earn Rs 15-20 lakh a month. And this has been going on for several months. Which means a junior lawyer earns nearly Rs 175 lakh from the Gujarat government every year. But then when was it a question?

There might be restlessness within the party because there is a delay in announcing the names of contestants from UP, prominent party leader Rajnath Singh believes that the list should not be released before January 10. On the occasion of Atal ji’s birthday on December 25, Rajnath Singh is organising a big BJP rally in Lucknow and all party leaders of repute will be part of the rally. Rajnath believes that if the list is released before this, all contestants will get busy with their constituencies and there will be few to organise a big crowd for the rally. And the people who will not be able to get a ticket will try to upset all efforts of a successful rally. Gadkari and Sangh Parivar also agrees with Rajnath’s point, and those who don’t are ordinary party workers. Since when have they been able to harm anyone in any way?

When the outspoken leader from UP BJP Ramakant Yadav met Party President Nitin Gadkari with a list of nine of his people, Gadkari directed him to his human computer Arun Narendranath. Press a button on Narendranath’s computer and the entire report of the chosen constituency can be seen through five terms. The demographic chart of the constituency, the caste breakup, the list of those who want to fight elections from the area, the list and details of the contestants, the maths of votes and so on. So when Narendranath tried telling Yadav ji that it will not be able to give such as such seat to the Yadav man because the Brahmins and Bhumihars have an upper hand, Yadav was pretty upset with it and went back ranting and raving. Ramakant Yadav has clearly told the party high command that elections in his area are not run by computers, but by something that is called a “danda” (stick).

Gadkari, who has brought about a corporate-like running of the BJP is on cloud nine nowadays. He has expressed his desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections and sent shock waves through the party. Now the most crucial question is whether he will contest elections from Nagpur or Wardha. Nagpur is his karmsthali and has learnt everything from grocery selling to sticking posters in the city. The Sangh may have its headquarters in Nagpur but it has never been able to register a win from here, except once in 1996. So a politics pro Gadkari knows that if he has to win from Nagpur, he will have to do what the Congress does. And contesting from the city is, in any case, an expensive proposition. As much as Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore is spent on an election here and punters have already started to place bets that if Gadkari does decide on contesting elections from here, how much will the budget increase. That’s because Gadkari knows about finances and is also a pro at getting it. When Gadkari was the public works minister in the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, he had brought a lot of big infrastructure plans to Nagpur. But he may have to lock horns with the old hand of Congress – Vilas Muttemvar. So he is also eyeing the Wardha seat. In the last elections, BJP’s Suresh Vaghmare lost the seat to Dutta Meghe. Vaghmare and Gadkari have never really gotten along with each other and Congressman Dutta Meghe is one of the closest friends of Gadkari. And he recently took everyone by surprise when he announced his retirement from politics. Those who know are well informed why he took this step. So the next Lok Sabha elections are like a penalty kick for Gadkari. His inclination and body language may suggest that he may go for Nagpur, but he may snub his nose at his opposition within the party and register a win from Wardha. This is not only his style but may also be the only choice he’s got.

Since the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have got their own channel, people get to see the Parliament as it is. In such a scenario, Ekta Kapoor gave up her love for mega serials and got into the business of film production and has entered the arena with soft porn movies such as “Ragini MMS” and “The dirty picture”. To promote and market her movie, she sent Emraan Hashmi to Parliament House. Thank god for Smriti Irani of the BJP, who spoke against it and Hashmi, who is also known as the “kissing hero” went back or he would’ve shown his “dirty” intentions to the Parliament, too.

The list may already have opened up a Pandora’s box of allegations and counter allegations, but the government is shying away from making public the names of those on the list. Actually, it doesn’t matter what the reason is but the excuses the government is giving about it are nothing short of naïve. The Indian government says that there is double taxation treaty between India and France, and so we can’t make the names of the people public. What no one can understand is what does this double taxation has to do with the names of Indians who have accounts in Swiss banks. For, this money hasn’t been earned by working or doing business in France and neither does any of the 792 Indian have any business dealings with France. This money belongs to India, which is languishing in foreign banks to evade taxation. The Indian government has argued that under double taxation treats only those names can be made public who will have cases against them. Only the Manmohan Singh government knows why it is so interested in protecting these people.

The finance ministry sprang into action after getting the list. A team was hurriedly formed, and a high-level person of a level of advisor was given the responsibility to handle the entire operation. On the basis of the list, the team raided several people all over India. Most such raids took place in Gujarat and Mumbai. Several diamond merchants of Gujarat were raided too. It’s Delhi next. The people caught have been told to either file revised returns at the rate of 35 per cent, or be ready to be booked under FEMA, Prevention of Money Laundering Act as well as Income Tax Act. But it’s not enough to file revised returns alone – several officials may also have to be bribed. But some lawyers have not started to say that there is no need to file revised returns, since what is the proof that the list is authentic? But the government is in no mood to relent and is working on taking strict action against such people.