| Published on 16-01-2008 In National |
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| Corridor Whispers - Jan 16 Part - 1 |
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Written by
Insider |
Moily on a High
AICC's media chairman Veerappa Moily is not the best-liked person in the Congress. A mere mention of him makes Union Ministers and party functionaries wary. The other day Priyaranjan Das Munshi was briefing media about an ordinance on delimitation exercise when some journo sought to know Centre's take on setting up of second States Reorganization Commission. Munshi said the proposal was in the pipeline but then another scribe pointed out that Moily has asserted that the union cabinet has discussed it and the matter is "under active consideration." Munshi was quickly disarmed saying Moily would know best.
On another occasion, PMO minister and AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan too "gave up" the moment Moily's name was mentioned. Kapil Sibal, Arjun Singh, Kamal Nath and even P. Chidambaram are however said to hold the former Karnataka chief minister in awe. AICC office-bearers considers Moily as "eyes and ears" of the Prime Minister while most union ministers view him as "10, Janpath man." Amidst this perplexity, Moily continues to walk with his head held high and talk big.
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Heady Days for the Wine Industry!
With the arrival of 2008, the mood in industry is upbeat. Apart from Tata's Nano, the Chambers of Commerce are happy over rural India taking to wine. Viewing as a clear sign of progress and prosperity, the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has come up with a study said says drinking wine is no longer an urban indulgence. The consumption of wine in rural India is pegged at 35 per cent or 3.5 million litres in the current financial year. By mid-December, rural areas have already consumed 2.75 million litres out of the total of 6.5 million litre sold so far. The study has other "bright" spots too. The change in consumption pattern is due to "health reasons" as rural folks in Punjab, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra, Karnataka and elsewhere look wine as a "sort of health drink." In terms of money, rural India is said to be contributing to Rs. 500 crores in wine sales, which exceed 1400 crores a year. While liquor sales are growing at the rate of 10-12 per cent, wine is growing three times faster. These are certainly happy and heady days!
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One-upmanship in UP
The Uttar Pradesh Congress wallahs are matching "fire with fire.
" At least this is what Digvijay Singh and Rita Bahugana seem to think. The other day AICC general secretary fresh from a cataract operation and UPCC chief called on the Prime Minister seeking a "package" for Bundelkhand of Uttar Pradesh. The high point was demand for Rs. 15,000 crores for the region, double the amount requested by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati. The Prime Minister was non-committal but Congressmen are counting on Rahul Gandhi to clinch the issue. Rahul is going to Jhansi on January 17 where he is likely to endorse the Congress demand. In UP Chief Minister's office in Lucknow, babus are laughing at Congress wisdom pointing that the Centre's bounty would come to them much more than what was sought by the chief minister.
Elsewhere in UP, Mulayam Singh Yadav's son Akhilesh has thrown a challenge to Rahul and other baba logs of the Congress. Akhilesh shot into fame when an overzealous police official allegedly slapped him leading to statewide stirs and agitation. Young Akhilesh told friends that Gandhi should "learn" how to generate mass movement. In Congress circles, Akhilesh's advice is considered too lowly.
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No IT only Cricket for Murthy
IIT Kanpur recently had a distinguished visitor and alma mater. But Infosys chief Narayan Murthy talked little about business, management, engineering or entrepreneurship. Murthy spoke about Cricket focusing on "un-cricket like behaviour" at Sydney. Murthy said he was appalled by the umpiring standards and conduct of Aussie cricketers. The Padma Bhushan awardee echoes Sharad Pawar's sentiments that if justice was not delivered to Harbhajan Singh, team India should come home.
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Benazir's secret of happiness
Benazir Bhutto was a great exponent of vipassana, the art of living based Buddhist meditation techniques to see things as they really are.
She had learnt it during her visit to Nepal in 1996. According to Roop Jyoti, a former minister who runs several vipassana centres in Nepal, Benazir had mastered anapana, the technique of in-and-out breathing, which she used to find it relaxing. Jyoti says Benazir was always short of sleep and used to rely upon anapana to look refreshed and happy. |
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