Comment

Journos just back from Manmohan Singh’s ten-day visit to Washington and Port of Spain are talking of nothing else but the rise and rise of national security advisor M K Narayanan. He seems to have put the 26/11 fiasco behind him and was clearly the man in charge on this all important trip. Veterans of previous PM visits noted that he stepped forward to take over the media briefings while foreign secretary Nirupama Rao sat next to him without opening her mouth. It was quite a change from the days of her predecessor Shankar Menon who used to do the talking while Narayanan remained silent except for an occasional intervention on security-related issues. Even Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, regarded as the PM’s sherpa for the United States, stayed in the background. A prime minister’s foreign trip usually serves as a barometer of power equations within the PMO and the government. Judging from Narayanan’s omnipresent profile during this visit, he seems to be calling the shots on foreign policy.

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It’s impossible to separate cricket and politics. The latest politician aspiring to head a state cricket association is rural development minister C P Joshi. It’s not official yet but Joshi has ambitious plans to contest for the post of president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association this month. The secret came out when he “persuaded” a treasurer of one of the district cricket associations to step down in his favour so that he could fulfil an RCA rule that makes it mandatory for all contestants to hold a district office bearer’s post. Having made the eligibility grade, Joshi is now concentrating on winning the support of Rajasthan’s movers and shakers. He is believed to have got IPL czar Lalit Modi on his side. But the jury is still out about support from most important man in Rajasthan, chief minister Ashok Gehlot. The two don’t see eye-to-eye and Joshi believes that Gehlot’s supporters got him defeated in the 2007 assembly elections so that he would not be a challenger for the CM’s post. Gehlot is said to be toying with the idea of putting up the MP from Jaipur, Mahesh Joshi, for RCA president. Will C P Joshi appeal to his mentor Rahul Gandhi for help?

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The high point for the delegation that accompanied Manmohan Singh to Port of Spain last week was to play an impromptu cricket match at Trinidad’s famed Queen’s Park stadium. The crowning glory of the stadium is a pavilion dedicated to West Indian batsman Brian Lara. The match was a six overs limited one between journos and officials of the ministry of external affairs. The two teams couldn’t believe their luck as they bowled and batted in hallowed grounds while Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart were going through the ceremonial ritual of inking the nuclear pact between their countries. After much cheering and hooting, the match ended in a disputed result with the officials claiming victory and the journos insisting that it was a tie at 36 runs each!

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TAILPIECE
Now that K Rosaiah has been officially annointed chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Congress MPs from his home state buzzed around him like bees to a honeypot when he dropped in briefly at Parliament House a few days ago. They fluttered and fawned and plied him with cups of coffee and toast. Observers watching the sickening sycophancy on display were struck by the irony of fate. All these MPs were once YSR loyalists, handpicked by the late CM for the Lok Sabha. It hasn’t taken them long to switch sides.