Not dynasty but heritage
Sonia Gandhi's entry into the election campaign has not been taken to kindly by a large section of the print media and some members of the intelligentsia. To them it signifies the return of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Some even term it as the return of the dinosaurs. But is it true that there has been and is a Nehru-Gandhi dynasty?
Comrades at loggerheads
The enormity of the factional warfare in the Kerala unit of the CPI(M) was brought home by the recent elections to the party's state committee. By virtually sweeping the polls, the faction led by Politburo member V.S. Achuthanandan has thumbed its nose at those who engineered his stunning defeat at Mararikulam in the last elections.
The unbearable sickness of laughter
The spectacular opening scene of Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris is about the Parisian underworld denizens and students watching a stage performance, freely interfering with it. Soon, as part of a mammoth festival, they will select the Fool's Pope in a tight contest.
Tickets for women
Remember that old Beatles' ditty which went: She's got a ticket to ride...? Well, that's just the point. Will Indian women get those crucial tickets to contest the country's 12th Lok Sabha elections or will they miss the bus yet again?
BJP's pragmatism
The statement by BJP's shadow prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee on the party seriously considering the entry of global majors into the domestic insurance sector, provided they also took up social schemes like crop insurance, is entirely consistent with the moderate position he has taken on several political issues. This is quite pragmatic since the party's past swadeshi image can easily be mistaken for a want of commitment to deepening the process of liberalisation.
Chambers can wait
Even as the major political parties are busy formulating their agenda as part of the poll campaign, the apex chambers of commerce and industry are telling the political leadership what industry and business expect of them in the realm of economic policy. But, one wonders if the chambers' timing is right.
