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It’s easier tackling Prakash Karat’s ideological rigidity than handling Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen’s tantrums. Or so the government’s chief troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee must be feeling at this moment.

If the nuclear deal imbroglio gave him sleepless nights, Nasreen is making his days miserable. The latest provocation is her conversation with Narendra Modi during his brief visit to the Capital for last week’s National Development Council meeting.

Picking up from his offer to host her in Gujarat if the Bengal government refused to allow Nasreen back in Kolkata, a kindly interlocutor put them in touch. Modi apparently told her to be patient till the assembly results are out on Sunday.

After that, he promised, he’ll get her out of house arrest and have her shifted to Gujarat. Reports of their ‘pact’ made the government see red. Was Nasreen actually planning to fire from the BJP’s shoulders to embarrass the UPA?

An official was immediately dispatched to warn her not to play political games in India. She was also told that she would have to stay in Delhi till Kolkata cools down. But Nasreen’s middle name is controversy.

She was on the phone almost immediately, blabbing to friends about an ‘ultimatum’ from the government. It seems she’s headed for big trouble, judging by the angry mood of her handlers.

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Unfortunately for Mukherjee, the Nasreen hot potato has landed on his plate. While he has shown exemplary patience in his dealings with Karat over the nuclear deal imbroglio, his temper is on a short fuse with Nasreen.

His office is at its wit’s end trying to meet her constant demands, which range from wanting to go back to Kolkata to seeking the little luxuries of life. The latest request from the ‘safe house’ in which she is ensconced was for a hair dryer.

She told the liaison officer Mukherjee has appointed to deal with her that she can’t shampoo her hair without a facility to dry it.

The harried officer hastily procured a hair dryer and sent it across before Nasreen turned bare necessities into a media controversy. The nuclear deal looks so easy to resolve compared to the tension of managing an eccentric author.

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While the fur is flying in government circles because of Nasreen, the Congress brigade that went to Gujarat for the assembly elections is up in arms against flamboyant women and child minister Renuka Choudhry.

Their grouse: that she ignored the duty chart to avoid doing leg work for the polls and only flew in at the last moment to mark her presence at Sonia Gandhi’s rally in Rajkot. Choudhry had better beware.

With a cabinet reshuffle coming up next month, each minister’s performance is under the scanner. Gandhi has taken note of Choudhry’s antics in Gujarat but the minister is like a cat with nine lives. She survives in the government despite repeated complaints against her.

TAILPIECE
Sharad Pawar’s Cabinet colleagues have noticed that of late he’s been trying to avoid Lalu Yadav. The talk is that he slips away from Cabinet meetings a few minutes before they end so that Lalu can’t collar him.

The reason? It seems Lalu is after him to induct cricketer son, Tejaswi Yadav, into the national team. Yadav junior currently plays for Delhi’s under-19 team.

Pawar did a little research and apparently found that he hasn’t scored a single run in his past 10 matches! Now, how do you tell Lalu that his son lacks the necessary skill sets?

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net