National

Deep Throat

A regular column on the essential buzz

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Deep Throat
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Bihar
In The Name Of The Son

Guess who is singing high praise for the prime minister? Ram Vilas Paswan. Why? To paper over the Bihar poll debacle, of course, but for one other reason. Paswan is concerned about his actor-son Chirag’s political career, now that Laloo Prasad’s sons are in the Bihar government. So, Paswan senior is trying hard to settle Chi¬rag in Delhi’s political circles. At an event in Delhi to mark 19 months of Modi’s government, Paswan Sr attributed every achievement of his ministry to the PM. Also, the backdrop only had Modi’s pictu¬res and Chirag was seen deftly handling questions on Dalit rights, almost suggesting that the PM would take care of it all.

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Maharashtra
Sour Grapes

There are faint rumblings in the Congress over the ongoing Make in India week, where the BJP is grabbing all the credit for Maharashtra being the nation’s top industrial hub and FDI destination (never mind that fire). Leaders and party workers are upset that they were not able to ‘package and present’ the state like the BJP government. “No one talks about Vibrant Gujarat anymore,” says one Congress leader. To add insult to injury, the BJP has coined ‘Magnetic Maha¬rashtra’, and set up a pavilion to drive home the point.

New Delhi
Tell-Tale Signs

It was a raid by the Enforcement Directorate on the premises of an ex-diplomat for African nations-turned-businessman, Deepak Vohra, and his associates, but it has ended up as an embarrassment for the government. A bureaucrat-turned-BJP MP from Delhi has been batting for the ex-envoy and was even present at his residence when the raid was taking place. After the MP made frantic calls to ED and finance ministry officials, sleuths are now probing the alleged business links of the MP and the diplomat. Vohra is sus¬¬¬pected by the ED to be inv¬olved in a ‘line of credit fraud’ through his connections with a firm, Angelique International.   

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Kashmir
Extended Lease

Finance secretary Ratan P. Watal is twice lucky. When the late Jammu and Kashmir CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed wanted Watal’s services for the state, the Centre did not oblige. Now, the buzz in the Union finance ministry is that Watal’s connections with some senior ministers has helped him extend his stay in New Delhi. Watal was to retire on February 29, that momentous day when the general budget will be presented in Parliament. He has been given an extension of two months, which means he will continue in office till April 30.

Heard Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan is miffed at the media hue and cry over concessions granted to an RIL plant whereas the Tata Nano project in Gujarat passed without any controversy.

Overheard Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is readying for a potential showdown with the Congress high command after losses in byelections were compounded by rumours over his ‘costly’ watches.

Contributed by Prarthna Gahilote, Prachi Pinglay-Plumber, Meetu Jain, Bula Devi and K.S. Shaini

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