Who knows what his thoughts are worth? Who knows what he really wants? But then it is the orders from the echelons of power and you have to heed to them with your head bowed – be it Rs 36 or Rs 26, we will have to content ourselves with it and try to douse the hunger pangs. Don’t dare question if it is possible, while they still manage to make light of Rs one lakh crore and even more. So for now Chidambaram will be saved, the Prime Minister who is in New York and the Rajmata in Delhi want it so. And who dare harm him when on September 16, on his birthday, posters of Chidambaram were pasted all over Chennai, depicting him as Krishna, albeit a bald one! He is also being touted as the future prime minister. And how long can one keep hoping against hope. When the Opposition attacks subside, the allegations on Chidambaram will vanish, and at such a time, he will be asked to beat it, never to return.

BJP’s National Treasurer and Rajya Sabha Member Piyush Goel may be a chartered accountant by profession, but his nature is that of an economist. Recently, when a Parliamentary Representative Committee, which included JD(U)’s N K Singh (who has been the revenue secretary) and four other Parliamentarians went for an Indo-Japan Partnership seminar, it was Piyush Goel’s speech that was appreciated the most. He talked about the disadvantages of the Japanese high-cost economy and advised that if Japan wanted to stay in the global economy and become more competitive, it will have to import cheap Indian labour. The Parliamentarian from Kyoto was so impressed with Piyush’s speech that after the seminar, he invited Piyush to Kyoto and Piyush returned to India two days after the other Indian representatives.

The changing times have changed Rahul, too. His political thinking and language has changed, too. A few days ago, Rahul was walking down the central hall with young BJP leader Kamlesh Paswan of Basgaon village of UP, when state minister RPN Singh called out to Rahul from behind saying, “Sir, have you seen the UP paper…” Rahul ignored it and kept walking and the minister hurried up to walk alongside Rahul and repeated the question. Rahul gave the Congressman a piercing look and said, “When I’ve read it, I’ll let you know.” Only until very recently, Rahul could be seen talking to his party members jovially. Something has happened for him to change tack.

The government is upset with the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) performance regarding the Delhi bomb blast. It is unhappy that the aim with which the NIA was formed has not been met by the agency. It has not been able to solve even one case until now. But what can the NIA do; the government hasn’t given it any law protection. Its duties include investigating terrorism, prevent it, and prosecute those found guilty. But the question is that when the agency doesn’t have its own intelligence set up how can it collect any information? That is the reason it hasn’t been able to see any case to its natural solving since the 26/11 attack. The NIA neither has its own active intelligence, nor does it get any assistance from other government investigative agencies at the right time. The right thing to do would have been to recruit the best IPS officers of India in the agency and they should have been selected from different states. But what is really happening? Only such officials are being appointed in the agency who have made state CMs unhappy and it is like a kalapani posting. Most officers in the agency are those that have never served a terror-infested area during their service. Also, they have neither got any professional training nor legal. They have no machine for intelligence gathering, no team of super cops, and neither a head command like Gill or Riberio. So how can you blame the NIA alone?

Rahul Gandhi has clearly told his party members that he isn’t ready to take on any responsibility in the present times; he neither wants to become the party’s working committee’s president, nor wanting to hold the prime minister’s post. He is repeating the same lines that he wants to travel all over India and make the Congress stronger. A prominent member of the Rahul brigade says it is not the opportune time for the Congress. At such a time, taking over the reins of Congress could prove to be hara-kiri for the prince. For now he is concentrating only on media attention and is trying to think of ways so that he can make headlines.

When the prime minister reached Dhaka, he gave a big interview to Bangladesh’s biggest newspaper “Bangladesh Samvad Sanstha” and commented on how in the past he was very fond of the Hilish (Hilsa fish) but has turned vegetarian for health reasons, but if the host does place a Hilish dish before him, he may give up being vegetarian. The hostess heard and that very night there was a dinner to be hosted by Sheikh Hasina and different kinds of Hilsa fish were cooked for the occasion. The prime minister also stood true to his word and taste Hilish machh. When he left for Delhi on his special aircraft, the host nation presented him with a big box of Hilsa fish. As a part of his “Hilish diplomacy”, the prime minister sent the fish as a gift to politicians of various parties and some Bengali professors of Jawaharlal Nehru University also got to taste the delicacy.

Who knew the honeymoon between Congress-Trinamool would end so soon? That armed with all the political tricks of the trade, the fighters will be set for a face-off? Manoj Pant, who has been Pranab da’s personal secretary for a long time, became a joint secretary. And since an IAS of the joint secretary level can’t be a minister’s PS, Dada got him a good post in Washington and now wanted a new PS for himself. For the same, he was interested in the DM of Birbhum, which also happens to be his constituency. Pranab da wanted to bring him to Delhi as his PS. But since the DM was an IAS from the Bengal cadre, it was imperative permission be sought from the state government. But Mamta didi put her foot down and said the DM won’t be sent and wrote a formal letter about the same: “We anyways are facing a dearth of such IAS officers, and can’t send our officer to Delhi. If at all, Delhi should return some of the officers back to Bengal.” Dada has read didi’s message loud and clear and the coming days will show his reaction to the incident.

The investigations of Shaila Masood’s murder may have been handed over to the CBI, but when the list of close friends of this RTI activist was sifted, several interesting facts came to light. Among them include the names of two prominent Cabinet ministers of Manmohan government, a Congress secretary who is closest to Rahul Gandhi, former vice chancellor of Jamia, a minister of Madhya Pradesh government, an Assembly member, a close relative of the chief minister, the owners of two big newspaper groups, the chairman of a tourism corporation and three IAS and two IPS officials. For now only Tarun Vijay’s name has come out in the open, and that too because as the president of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Trust, Tarun had given the responsibility of making a film of late Mukherjee to Shaila. They became close during the process. She met Kamalnath and Jairam Ramesh during her “Project Tiger” movement. She was also in-charge of the Anna campaign in Madhya Pradesh. Prima facie, the investigation agencies suspect that the mining lobby and a prominent police officer (IPS) may have a hand behind her murder. Should we understand from this that “Wo shokh intequam ka khangar nahi raha/ shishagaron ke sheher mein pathhar nahi raha”.

The all-powerful in Congress Ahmed Patel has got a clean chit from the Delhi Police in the “cash for vote” scam. The sources reveal that when Patel was trying to save the government following the nuclear deal and had to meet some Parliamentarians at the Delhi-based Le Meridian hotel, he spoke to an important official in an intelligence agency and went back without reaching the hotel. But he still managed to get what he wanted. He has also got a clean chit in the matter that he never ever spoke to Suhel Hindustani. A miffed Amar Singh is now pointing out who is the biggest beneficiary of the whole affair. Why is there no action taken against him? Just one question: “Nadir tu kyon sambhal ke kadam rakhta hai yahan/ Zauke bisaal kyat ere andar nahi raha?”

The Congress Rajmata is not keeping well, the Congress itself is on shaky ground, a few lawyer-politicians are steering the party, so a growing directionless party and government is urging the core group of Sonia confidantes to have the coronation of the prince in order to give the party a new lease of life. The auspicious time for the same may be October, and just before that Dr Manmohan Singh may also officially become unwell and spell out his inability to take care of his office. But the biggest hurdle in the entire process is coming from Sharad Pawar and old Karunanidhi, who are unsure about taking orders from a young Rahul. But this is the Congress readers, there is a remedy for every problem, the antidote is here itself, and this message has been given to Pawar and Karunanidhi. Mamata didi already agrees to it.