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     Ishan Side Hero Username: Ishan Post Number: 5337 Registered: 01-2009 Posted From: 68.89.186.85 Rating: N/A |
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| Vjavasi Side Hero Username: Vjavasi Post Number: 4535 Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 75.131.192.17 Rating: N/A |
naaku adhe ardham kaala....sattire anukuntunna | ||
| Ruj Side Hero Username: Ruj Post Number: 2631 Registered: 03-2007 Posted From: 76.17.165.117 Rating: N/A |
anna..ee paper enti..nijame rasthunada.sattire aa?? Congress, the worst thing ever to happen to Bharat | ||
| Vjavasi Side Hero Username: Vjavasi Post Number: 4534 Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 75.131.192.17 Rating: N/A |
http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/columnists/manmohan-parties-o n/203741.html Manmohan parties on Aditya SinhaFirst Published : 03 Sep 2010 11:29:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 04 Sep 2010 12:08:22 AM IST Last night I was a guest at 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of our invertebrate prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, where he threw a party to celebrate the recent passage in Parliament of the nuclear liabilities Bill. To my surprise, it was a wild and crazy get-together. The champagne sloshed around like monsoon waters on a Delhi road; there was blaring music by the talentless schmucks of our entertainment industry; and the women were as classy as IPL cheerleaders. In short, it was almost as vulgar as Vijay Mallya. I asked the PM whether it was appropriate to be indulging in such wasteful conspicuous consumption at a time when ordinary citizens were plagued by crushing inflation, rotting foodgrain, rising petrol prices, an uncertain global economic outlook, Maoist violence, Kashmiri uprising, and Suresh Kalmadi. âRelax yaar,â the PM said, thumping my back. âIâm also practicing austerity by serving champagne in paper cups. Woo-hoo! Have a Patiala peg.â âBut whatâs there to celebrate?â I asked, ignoring the fact that champagne is rarely served in pegs. âAfter all, the Americans are still muttering about the Billâs failure to give blanket protection to suppliers in case a foreign-contractor-built nuclear plant blows up and kills millions of impoverished Indians. And it isnât as if any plants are going to pop up in the next decade or so. And who knows? Maybe weâll have the Koreans build them instead of the French or the Russians or the Americans.â âYou sound just like Montek,â the PM replied. âYou worry too much.â Just then we were joined by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. âThe reason the PM is immersed in a celebratory mood,â he somberly explained, âis that it no longer appears as if he will be removed from office anytime soon, contrary to the speculation that he would not last out the calendar year.â âYouâre just saying that because his boss Sonia Gandhi hasnât started setting the stage for a transfer of power to a new PM,â I pointed out. âBut may I remind you that the Congress president is fully capable of springing a last minute surprise, as was the case in selecting President Pratibha Patil.â âWhat gave you the idea that becoming the PM of India depended on Indians, even naturalised ones?â Montek said. âIâm talking about America. If you want to be prime minister of India, you have to be in the good books of the Americans. Just look at the BJPâs Arun Jaitley.â âWhat are you talking about?â I asked, wondering whether Montek had too much champagne or if it was just a matter of his turban being tied too tightly. âYou may recall that when the Bill came back from the parliamentary standing committee, the Congress let it be known that since objectionable clauses were being altered as per the BJPâs initial objections, the BJP had verbally assured its support to the Bill,â Montek said. âThat was Jaitleyâs doing as Leader of Opposition. Heâs been keen on the Bill from the beginning as he wants to demonstrate to the Americans that he is reliably pro-US and thus PM material in case the NDA comes to power, since he knows the Americans are still wary of Narendra Modi.â âBut his support didnât work at that time,â I pointed out. âYes, there was too much opposition in the party to bailing the government out,â Montek said. âJaitley had taken his partyâs support for granted.â âThatâs a typical Rajya Sabha politicianâs tactical mistake,â I said. âBut youâre talking of something in the distant future, if the NDA or some other non-Congress-led front manages to capture power after the 2014 elections. What about 2011 or 2012? Wonât someone from within the Congress take over from Dr Singh then?â âYou mean like Rahul Gandhi?â Montek said, beginning to laugh. âNo chance.â âThe Americans are totally dismissive of Rahul,â the PM whispered, cutting in. âThey think that heâs beginning to take a stand on issues, but on the wrong side. Like in Orissa recently, when he exhorted tribal youth to stand up to large corporations like Vedanta. This really does not give the Americans confidence.â âBut Sir,â I whispered back. âSurely the Americans must know that Rahul is merely posturing for political purposes. Thatâs why heâs not in government. Like his mother, he can take left-of-centre stances on issues that may seem contrary to the actions of your right-of-centre government.â âItâs not just his bleeding heart pretensions,â the prime minister said. âThe Americans donât think heâs capable of taking the correct stand on Kashmir and Pakistan, which is going to be important to their Af-Pak policy in the years to come. Look at Rahulâs pal Omar Abdullah. He has single-handedly created a new generation of separatists, and this time thereâs a strong Islamist streak. How are these youth icons supposed to fix problems so that the Americans can pursue their Muslim world policies?â âOn Pakistan, the Americans arenât sure if Rahul has the wherewithal for meaningful engagement,â Montek butted in. âPlus, heâs 40 and still unmarried, which in America is not the sign of a man interested in stability.â âSo Iâm going to be PM for some more time to come,â Manmohan Singh said, pumping his fist. âYea, baby!â âMaybe the Americans will ask Priyanka to be the next PM,â I suggested. âDonât be absurd,â Montek snapped. âThat will never happen because her husband is obviously itching to turn into another Asif Ali Zardari.â âSurely there must be another candidate from the Congress party?â âLike who, Pranab Mukherjee? Sonia will never let that happen. P Chidambaram? Heâs so full of hot air that heâs going to float off into the clouds one of these days. S M Krishna? Not even if he gets a new set of wigs,â the prime minister said. âBut youâre saying this as if Sonia will willingly do anything that the Americans want,â I protested. âOf course she will,â Montek said. âThe kind of corruption that her party has engaged in has given the Americans a large Damoclesâ Sword to hang over her head. Donât you remember Paul Volckerâs report on the Oil-for-Food scandal? Or the scams in the current Commonwealth Games?â Just then the PMâs smart-phone rang. âHello Obama-ji,â he shouted into the mobile. âYes, we are also looking forward to your visit.â âSee what I mean?â Montek said with a wink. âFrom commander-in-chief to commanche-in-chief, everything is, as the Americans say, hunky-dory.â |
