ELECTIONS '98
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'We shouldn't be exporting food when our people are starving'

Tamil Nadu is going to lose a few Lok Sabha seats when the 2001 census is taken as a basis. If you control the population, you lose MPs. Wow! The lesser the number of MPs the lesser the noise in Parliament, lesser corruption, lesser leaches feeding off the exchequer. I don't understand why Chief Minister Karunanidhi is cribbing?

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Trade balance in the agriculture sector is in favour of India. India exports five times the imports from the US. This is not something to be proud off. We shouldn't be exporting food when our people are starving. If they exported more machines, ah... that would make me proud.

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In Delhi at the Peoples Convention against communalism organised by the Left parties, Mulayam Singh Yadav was at his oratorical best. He thundered: "Central rule was imposed on Bihar when the RJD started raising its voice against attacks on Christians across the country." How profound! And everybody thought that the Ranvir Sena bowled Rabri out.

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In Himachal Pradesh Sukh Ram has submitted a chargesheet against former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. If Sukh Ram says so, it must be true.

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The Congress does not support President's rule in Bihar even though Rabri Devi has lost the moral right to rule. So morality does not come into the picture at all. Sitaram Kesri is worried that the Congress will lose the support of the minorities if they sided with the BJP. What about the Dalits Kesariji, and what about the cows in Bihar?

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The President's address to the joint sitting of the Parliament was great. Not in what he said, but in what he ignored. He mentioned a lot of countries, but ignored the US. There was not even a itsy-bitsy referrence to that nation. The Talbot-Jaswant endless talks, the India Caucus, the Indian lobby in Washington -- none have impressed our President. And the US thinks it is all important to India.

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Chandrababu Naidu repeatedly anounces that he will withdraw support to the BJP if the minorities are attacked. I hope this is not a red herring to people who will do anything for power. I think Naidu should include Dalits in his list also, because they too are a large cohesive vote bank.

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And in Madras former CBI director Joginder Singh met J Jayalalitha. He used to be known as Tiger Joginder. Now I guess we can call him a lamb.

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The national papers said the price of coffee had reduced from Rs 190 to Rs 180 a kilo. I was surprised because it sold at Rs 150 in my village. My goldsmith informed me that one man bought coffee in our village and sold it in his neighbourhood for Rs 70 a kilo. That too in 100 gram packets. Plus he gave a weekly credit. This is a different kind of subsidy. People die in hooch tragedies, nobody has died because of drinking coffee, so, I won't crib.

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Raymond has bought out its joint venture partner in Calitri Denim industries. SPA of Italy has withdrawn from their subsidiary Raymond Calitri Denim. The 'Complete Man' has lived up to expectations. I was getting tired of Indian companies being bought out of joint ventures.

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In the Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, Tamil Nadu, they raised property taxes with a resolution. Most of the councillors, after getting a negative feedback from the people, opposed the resolution. The mayor obliged by suspending it. But Commisioner Sudeep Jain insisted that the people pay higher tax. Hasn't this man heard about Panchayat Raj?

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Drunkards dying because of adulterated hooch have become frequent. The cops are always suspended for this. It would be more effective if the panchayat president was also suspended. Not a leaf moves in a village without the panchayat's knowledge. The elected panchayat should be more responsible than the cops who are ususally outsiders and don't care who lives or dies.

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In Karnataka, honesty is the order of the day. The newly appointed state Congress president, S M Krishna, admits that "internal democracy is not for the Congress." He is lucky that T N Seshan is not around. And the education minister H G Govinda Gowda has said: "In the education department even Brahma cannot improve things." Gowdaji, Saraswati not Brahma is the goddess of education. Here is a minister who does not know God's portfolio.

A Ganesh Nadar