Sticker bomb may have been used in the Indian subcontinent for the first time, but it is not a new technology for the terrorists. Two people were killed during the Munich Olympics by the same technique. These terrorists were from the Middle East and had come from Israel on a speed boat. They ran towards the apartments located in the sports village, located the two people, stuck sticker bombs on them and ran away. The blast led to the death of the two people.

The Mossad has prepared a list of eight possible suspects and given it to India. All of them are said to be Iranian residents, and Israel is putting pressure on India to take swift action against them or the suspects will flee India. India is giving a routine answer to Israel about this and saying, “We have our eyes on it.” India is actually unsure about the whole thing – Assembly elections are on in UP, in the fourth phase of elections, a large number of voters will be Muslims and if the Congress-ruled Central government takes action on the list and tracks and catches hold of the Iranians, it may have an adverse effect on the Muslim voters. And this time’s elections are a matter of honour for the Congress prince Rahul Gandhi and so the party does not want to take any more risks. India’s second biggest worry about Iran is the crude oil supply it gets from the country. If India rubs Iran the wrong way and the oil-rich country stops supplying crude to India, it will have to buy the same at a much higher price from the international markets because among the oil-reach countries, Iran is closest to India.

Israel’s secret agency Mossad had warned about India about the Delhi blast a long time ago. Somewhere Israel had a feeling that Iran was holding it responsible for a nuclear scientist’s death in Israel, and the damage done to the nuclear reactor there. To take care of the situation, Israel warned its embassies and people living in different countries to be careful and remain alert. But looks like India did not take this warning given by Israel as seriously as it should have.

Babu Singh Kushwaha seems to have formed an unbreakable bond with the BJP. He is in constant touch with BJP President Nitin Gadkari and still holds a lot of sway in the BJP. It is being said that with his own prowess, Kushwaha has helped the political careers of many close to him. Recently, Babu Singh was seen campaigning for a BJP candidate while remaining underground for an Assembly seat in Agra constituency. Kushwaha has a special team of his, comprising of more than 5,000 people. Wherever Kushwaha goes, his team goes with him and openly shout slogans, “Babu Singh nahi aandhi hai, Bundelkhand ka Gandhi hai.”

When the Income Tax department raided 17 places belonging to popular industrialist and alcohol baron Ponty Chaddha last fortnight, the noise about it also reverberated the ruling party’s hidden hand in it. And questions are constantly echoing in political corridors that why did Ponty go to meet Pranab Mukherji and Amita Paul right before the raids? Although there has not been any official consent of these meetings, sources reveal that Ponty was successful in meeting the finance minister. And there was a lot of talk about how the raids at Ponty’s places revealed that he had Rs 250 crore in cash, but on the lines of much ado about nothing, only Rs 100 was showed to have been recovered from Ponty’s locker in Noida’s Centre Stage Mall. Thus, in government records, only two currency notes of Rs 50 denominations were found. The entire episode is shocking and begs for answers, too. S S Rana, the official under whom the CBDT had organised the entire plan was hurriedly transferred. The Central government hopes that this alone will quieten down the matter. But looks like the government is oblivious to the fact that it will have to answer several unanswered questions from the public.

Combatting terrorism comes under the ambit of the Central government as well as making new laws to deal with it. The NCTC, that is, National Counter Terrorism Centre, has been designed along the lines of the NIA. It will work under the IB it has all the powers that come under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. After the passing of this law, it becomes binding on the state governments to supply any information asked for by the NCTC. Any police officer of the state, be it the DIG or the IG, will have to work under the NCTC. The organisation will not need to seek permission from the state government to tap a phone or arrest anyone. In current law, even the CBI has to seek the state government’s permission for an investigation, which leads to news leaking at times. The formation of NCTC and the powers it will enjoy sit uneasy with non-Congress parties, especially the BJP, which has raised a hue and cry about it. These state governments say that the Centre did not even deem it fit to consult with them before making such a law and simply released a notification about it. Most state government actually suspect the intentions of the Central government.

The NIA has given an application to the home ministry about arresting some prominent Sangh leaders. Now it is only about a yes from the Congress. The arrest of Kamal Chauhan is also long awaited – he was the main accused in the Samjhauta Express bomb incident. The NIA feels he should have been arrested a long time ago. At the same time, when M K Narayanan was the National Security Advisor, he had collected a lot of evidence against the Sangh leaders. He later met Advani and showed him the documents and Advani could not say anything. Now the Central government is in a fix because a significant election is going on in Uttar Pradesh and if the Sangh leaders are arrested during this time, the saffron party will cash in on the issue under the leadership of Uma Bharti. At the same time, a section of the Congress party feels that no matter what the staunch Hindu votes feel after the arrest, the Congress will gain the attention of Muslim votes. The Congress high command is yet to take a final decision about this.

The Ambani brothers are proving to be India’s biggest media moguls. Elder brother Mukhesh has got hold of a big English newspaper group, three English news channels, 12 regional channels and three big Hindi news channels. Not to be left behind, younger brother Anil controls two prominent English newspaper groups, a weekly news magazine and a channel each in Hindi and English. Looks like in the days to come, it will be Ambani news all over in India.

There are suspicions not only about the Army Chief’s date of birth, but a lot of chaos about his lawyers as well. When veteran advocate Ram Jethmalani got up in the court to present the Army Chief’s case, the judge asked the Army Chief’s filing lawyer who was fighting the case on the chief’s behalf. He took Uday Lalit’s name instead of Ram Jethmalani. Needless to say, Jethmalani was more than shocked to hear this and left the court in the huff.

Why did the CBI choose this opportune time for a raid on Ponty Chaddha, when his daughter is set to get married on February 9? The wedding cards have been printed and distributed. Those who have been invited for the wedding are eagerly waiting for the same. That’s because people feel that Ponty has had the wedding cards done so beautifully and lavishly (three kinds of chocolates are attached with these expensive cards), the events and ceremonies at the wedding will be even better. But the CBI raids have left a bitter taste in the mouth for the Ponty family.