Even the CIA could not penetrate the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Our nuclear scientists have always maintained a rigid code of secrecy which is doubly commendable in a nation where just about everyone else -- from generals to senior bureaucrats and politicians -- is unable to keep a confidence. The AEC scientists have instructions not to talk to anyone, including their wives about office matters. Since the AEC comes directly under the PMO, AEC officials brief only the prime minister. Even when a minister of state for personnel required information to reply to a question in Parliament on our atomic energy programme, AEC officials were reluctant to brief him directly.

When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, an AEC chairman insisted that even the prime minister's principal secretary could not be present during the top secret discussions. The IAS lobby, peeved at being excluded, formulated a rule that the PM's principal secretary is automatically a member of the AEC.

But thescientists -- a majority of whom are Tamilians or Kannadigas -- still succeeded in bypassing the IAS by holding their key discussions in closed door conclaves rather than at the formal AEC board meetings.

Proof of pudding

Where is the proof that Quattrocchi was a bosom buddy of Rajiv and Sonia? This is the question the Gandhi family's faithful champion, Mani Shankar Aiyer, poses in one of his recent columns. Aiyer's point is that if Q was a bosom pal of R then SPG records should be called for as they would reveal just how many times the Italian businessman met the late prime minister at his office or residence. Aiyer's categorical assertion is that Quattrocchi did not in fact visit the Gandhis even once when Rajiv was prime minister.Now as anyone familiar with the Harshad Mehta case knows, the SPG records detailing visitors to the Prime Minister are destroyed every three months. So Aiyer is free to make his claim without fear of contradiction from the SPG records. What is certainly verifiable isthe fact that when Rajiv Gandhi went on his year-end holiday to Lakshadweep in the late 1980s, apart from Sonia Gandhi's family the only other guests on the vacation were a senior Delhi-based journalist and his family and Maria and Ottavio Quattrocchi.

Act in haste

There are those who argue that the shaky BJP Government had no moral right to give the green signal for the N-tests without even consulting its supporting parties. Actually in the last decade, all decisions of far- reaching consequences have been taken expeditiously by wobbly governments with uncertain futures, which did not have the luxury of time on their side in which to reflect.

In 1990, V P Singh, aware that the BJP was about to withdraw support on the Rath Yatra issue, went full steam ahead with the implementation of the Mandal Commission report despite its divisive impact on society. It took the minority government of P V Narasimha Rao to introduce economic reforms and dismantle the well-entrenched license raj, something whichRajiv Gandhi with his over two-thirds majority was afraid to implement. Freeing Doordarshan from governmental control had been discussed ad nauseam by various governments and parties, but it was the Gujral Government on the verge of collapse which brought the 1990 Prasar Bharati Bill out of cold storage and issued the notification almost overnight.

Corporate culture

The style of functioning in the Congress party office has altered dramatically with Sonia Gandhi's arrival. Apart from renovating Sonia's room, her private secretary V George has also to be accommodated at 24 Akbar Road. Smaller cubicles have been prepared for George's four helpers: Tom, Tomy, Archana Dalmia and Kishore Babu who run the newswatch cell, which files clippings of articles of possible interest to the Congress president. Usually three press statements are released daily, with each of the three party spokespersons -- Salman Khursheed, Ajit Jogi and Ambika Soni -- reading out a release apiece. While the earlier partyspokesperson V N Gadgil used to indulge in light banter with the press and crack an occasional joke, the new lot of spokepersons have been instructed to stick to the written text and avoid loose talk and impromptu observations.

Incidentally, the reason Sonia suggested that the age old practice of squatting on the floor during the CWC meet be ended and Congressmen sit around a conference table was reportedly because she was shocked at the inelegant and sometimes offensive way in which some of the members sprawled around in their dhoties.

Looking confident

The announcement of the nuclear test blasts was a moment of triumph for the BJP Prime Minister. But in fact Atal Behari Vajpayee's face was ashen and his expression grim during the brief media meet in which he read out his prepared text. Photographers had a tough time locating a single negative with the prime minister's face smiling as befitted the mood. The tensions of the job may take a toll, but a seasoned statesman always exudes confidenceparticularly in stressful times.