The commission’s report will be made public along with an Action Taken Report (ATR).

The Liberhan Commission, headed by Justice M S Liberhan, had submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 30, 2009 – the last day of the commission’s 48th extension – in the presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The report was subsequently sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for “further action.”

Home Minister Chidambaram had announced in June 2009 that the Liberhan Commission report would be tabled in Parliament within 6 months.

Whatever the contents of the Liberhan Commission’s report are, there will be an uproar either by the UPA and Left parties, or if it goes against them, by the BJP and its allies. BJP and its parent organisation the RSS have consistently denied that it was a spontaneous action by the mob, and there was no planning involved. Whatever the truth is, very few believe that the truth about what happened and who was responsible would be finally made clear by the report. Even the Congress has some skeletons in its cupboards, due to the actions – or inaction – of the then-Congress Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, wh is believed by many to be too trusting of the RSS.

The contents of the Liberhan Commission Report have so far not been divulged. Justice Liberhan was accused of going slow as well as being too soft on certain political leaders during the course of the commission’s investigation.

Babri Masjid demolition photos

Babri Masjid photo: Before the demolition

Photo: Babri Masjid demolition in progress; this pic appeared in the next day's papers. By then the Masjid had vanished

Babri Masjid demolition photo

Photo: babri Masjid demolition in the background, cheering crowds in front

According to political observers, the Liberhan Commission Report could have far-reaching political implications vis-à-vis role the role of some of the leaders of the Sangh Parivar in the Babri Masjid demolition.

Sources in the Union Home Ministry said that the Action Taken Report (ATR) was being finalised and that it would submitted in Parliament along with the Liberhan Commission Report.

It is mandatory that the government should submit the Action Taken Report within 6 months of receiving a commission report. The deadline for the ATR regarding the Liberhan Commission Report is December 31, 2009.

The Liberhan Commission had recorded statements of a number of top political leaders, including those of L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh, and Uma Bharti, in addition to senior officials of the government of Uttar Pradesh.

The Liberhan Commission, set up on December 16, 1992, was initially asked to submit a report within 3 months.

However, the commission could submit a report only after over 16 years, and following a total of 399 sittings.

The Union Government spent around Rs 9 crore on the Liberhan Commission, including on salary.

Meanwhile, security will be tightened in Maharashtra in connection with the tabling of the Liberhan Commission Report in Parliament, especially in areas that are communally sensitive.

It may be recalled that the demolition of the Babri masjid on December 6, 1992, had led to communal riots in Mumbai in December 1992 and then in January 1993 in which the Shiv Sena and its leaders are believed to be involved in. These riots had, in turn, triggered a series of retaliatory bomb blasts by the underworld in Mumbai, in which over 180 people had lost their lives.

Hence the Home Ministry of Maharashtra is taking no chances, and is beefing up security in the state as well as presence of police on the streets, a source of the Home Ministry said.

New Delhi: The expected civil nuclear agreement between India and Canada was not signed on November 17, 2009, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper met.

Negotiators from both countries had met a week ago in an attempt to remove the obstacles in the way of a joint agreement on use of nuclear power for civilian purposes, which could have been a milestone in India’s improved relationship with Canada.

An agreement in this regard will let Canada sell India nuclear technology, and the agreement would have been in accordance with a memorandum of understanding on constructing more nuclear reactors with Canada’s CANDU technology.

India has a special interest in Canada, which is one of the biggest exporters of uranium.

According to reports, Cameco, the Canada-based mining and energy company, which has significant operations in Saskatchewan in Canada, is planning to set up its marketing office in India in order to explore opportunities of supplying uranium fuel to India.

India and Canada have announced a number of initiatives in such diverse areas as agriculture, mining technology, as well as a joint study group for a free-trade pact.

Stephen Harper had told Indian businessmen in Mumbai the other day that Canada is eager to share its expertise as also invest in fields such as science and technology, renewable energy and nuclear energy, and medical research projects.

Meanwhile, India and Canada have signed an agreement to set up a joint study group to boost trade and economic relations between the two countries and aiming at taking the bilateral trades to worth US $15 billion in the next 5 years annually.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed following the delegation-level discussions and later talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Yet another agreement, on bolstering cooperation in the sphere of energy, was signed, with a view to meeting the increasing energy needs in India, since Canada has is now become a superpower in the area of energy.

Manmohan Singh said that another pact, on cooperation in using nuclear energy for civilian purposes, is on the cards.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the discussions, Manmohan Singh and Stephen Harper recognised the contributions being made by the Indian-origin community living in Canada in improving ties between the two nations.

The talks between the two leaders included such issues as climate change, the impact of the global economic depression, as well as the Doha Round of negotiations.

Both agreed to initiate efforts at improving as well as diversifying bilateral ties.

Manmohan Singh and Stephen Harper said they are not only satisfied with the functioning of institutional mechanisms that guide bilateral cooperation but also will launch new mechanisms to fortify bilateral ties.

The two Prime Ministers acknowledged education as “an area of new momentum” and stressed the need for cooperation in the areas of science, technology, innovation, and linkage between institutions of higher learning in both countries.

Photo: Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari, who enjoys the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was in New Delhi the other day, fuelling speculations that he will be chosen to head the BJP at the national level.

Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Gadkari said that no decision has been taken yet. However, he did not deny that he is being tipped for the BJP’s top job and also said that he is “ready for any assignment.”

Photo: Nitin Gadkari with Rajnath Singh, current BJP president and Gopinath Munde

Nitin Gadkari said he had not met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who also was in New Delhi, adding that he has always taken up any responsibility that the party has given him, but he was never a part of any race for any post.

Political observers see Gadkari’s presence at the BJP’s central office in New Delhi as an obvious indication that his election as the national president of the BJP could be no more than a formality. If this come to pass, the BJP’s national-level leaders like M Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and Sushma Swaraj have been ignored for the post.

The candidature of Nitin Gadkari as the choice of the RSS for the post of the BJP chief has been doing the rounds since September 2009.

If Gadkari does become the BJP president, the party’s connection with Nagpur, the headquarters of the RSS, will be strengthened in many ways, according to observers.

Since Gadkari is close to the RSS, his possible elevation to the top party post is construed by many as an attempt by the RSS to get involved in the affairs of the  BJP.

The RSS apparently holds Gadkari in high esteem since he is considered as a “development-oriented” leader and also for his “clean image” after renowned social worker Anna Hazare had to withdraw a case of corruption against Gadkari as the charges could not be proved.

Nitin Gadkari had attracted attention while he was the Mayor of Nagpur and also as Maharashtra’s Minister for Public Works in the Shiv Sena-BJP government.

He has been credited with the development of Nagpur and Mumbai while he was the Mayor of Nagpur and a Minister in Maharashtra.

All the venues related to the Games will be protected by 4 layers of tight security – the outer, middle, inner and the exclusive levels.

The elaborate and “impregnable” security plan includes patrolling, deployment of plainclothesmen, widespread anti-sabotage checks, quick-reaction teams, commando strike teams, snipers, and bomb-disposal squads.

In all, 71 teams as well as dignitaries from 52 countries are expected to be present at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

In addition, there will be extensive aerial reconnaissance over the entire area, Neeraj Kumar, Special Commissioner of Police (Administration), New Delhi, told reporters while unveiling the elaborate and complex security arrangements for the mega-event.

The outer ring will constitute monitoring of park-and-ride facilities, surveillance via closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs), and access-control steps such as soft-checking of tickets.

In the middle security cordon, both visitors and spectators will be “channelised” to designated seats at the venues concerned. The middle ring will have, apart from electronic surveillance, snipers positioned on rooftops.

In the inner cordon, tickets will be re-checked using barcode-screening and also by using photos of the spectators taken. Vehicles of the VIPs, visiting dignitaries, officials of the organising committee and of the participants and their families will get checked through pre-allotted radio-frequency identification, under-vehicle scanners and licence-plate scanners. Boom barriers, road-blockers and tyre-killers will be put in place in order to prevent forcible entry into any of the venues.

Any entry to the innermost level, or the exclusive zone, will be permitted only after a person is screened through manual frisking; door-frame detectors, metal detectors and hand-held detectors; X-ray baggage scanners; and closed-circuit television cameras.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Administration) Neeraj Kumar, the ‘holistic’ security plan is to be carried out in coordination with civic, medical, intelligence and security agencies.

The elaborate security arrangements for the Delhi Commonwealth Games is to cover the Games Village, the 12 venues for sporting competitions, the 15 venues for standalone practice, over 50 standalone parking sites, the 9 hotels where the dignitaries stay, the central logistical centres located on the Mathura Road, the media centre at Pragati Maidan, besides the entire Delhi city in general.

A hub named the Command, Control, Communication, Coordination and Integration Centre is being established at the Delhi Police Headquarters in order to ensure real-time coordination among the various monitoring and assisting agencies. And, these different agencies will stay interconnected via wireless sets, landline phones, mobile phones, hotlines, and the Tetra trunk system.

Expert teams to respond to improvised explosives devices (IEDs) as well as chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological explosives will be stationed at all key location in and around the sporting and residential facilities.

From the skies, planes of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and helicopter-borne assault teams will guard all the facilities below.

The police are taking every possible step to ensure fool-proof security for the Commonwealth Games, Neeraj Kumar said at the press briefing.

All policemen will be issued what is called “non-cloneable” identity cards in order to prevent any impersonation.

Neeraj Kumar said that, learning lessons from the terror attack on cricketers from Sri Lankan in Lahore, Pakistan, earlier in 2009, the Delhi police would be providing an exclusive lane, shielded by securitymen, for vehicles that carry the participants of the Games. All possible journey routes have already been identified, and alternative routes also have been planned as a measure of precaution.

All residential complexes, hotels and parking lots in the entire area will be “sanitised” and closed one week before the Games kicks off.

Hotel-related precautions include checking of the antecedents of all the hotel staff and checking of the food for the participants.

All the participants will be escorted by armed commandos; vehicles carrying the athletes and officials will be subjected to anti-sabotage checks each morning; antecedents of all the drivers will be verified; and fuelling and parking will be only at designated places.

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) for an Integrated Security System (ISS) for the Commonwealth Games.

The ISS, costing Rs 370 crore, is to cover all venues used for competitions and training as well as the Games Village. The security system will be in place by March 31, 2010.

Seven days before the Games starts, a crack team of commandos, the Special Operations Group (SOG), will take over the security of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi, where a large number of athletes, officials, dignitaries and spectators are to land.

The SOG, which will be the first to react to any emergency at the airport, will stay in place 5 more days after the event is over.

Meanwhile, Stephen Smith, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is on a visit to India, said in New Delhi that Australia had offered to share with India its experience in organising security for the Commonwealth Games.

Melbourne, in Australia, had hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2006.

Smith said that the government of Australia is satisfied with the security arrangements for the Delhi Games.

The Prithvi-II missiles, with a strike range of 350 kilometres, were launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur-on-Sea, off the coast of Orissa.

S P Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range, described the launch mission involving the two Prithvi-II missiles as a “copybook success.”

It was the advanced inertial guidance system of the missiles which enabled them to hit the targets within a few metres of what is called the circular error probability (CEP), Dash added.

The Prithvi-II two P-II missiles – which are capable of carrying warheads weighing 500 kilogrammes – were successfully launched within minutes of each other by the armed forces as a part of the operational exercises, an official of the Defence Ministry said.

The missiles hit accurately 2 different targets that were 350 kilometres away from the launch point.

The missiles, which were test-fired from mobile launchers, were tracked and monitored by two naval ships.

One of the significant factors of the twin tests was that they were held by the tri-Service Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which was created in January 2003 to manage India’s nuclear armoury.

The Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), headed by the Prime Minister, and the Strategic Forces Command had been formed to ensure proper “command and control structures” after the 10-month-long troops mobilisation along the India-Pakistan border under ‘Operation Parakram’ in the aftermath of the December 2001 attack on Parliament.

The Prithvi missile was at first supposed to be a 150-kilometre-range ‘tactical’ battlefield missile carrying conventional warheads, but afterwards its role was enlarged to include the ‘strategic’ role, too, in order to carry nuclear payloads.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the advanced version of Prithvi is at present the mainstay of the Strategic Forces Command, since the 700-kilometre-range Agni-I and the 2,000- kilometre-range Agni-II ballistic missiles are still to be inducted into the armed forces.

While the Army has ordered 75 Prithvi-I missiles and 62 Prithvi-II missiles costing about Rs 1,500 crore, the Air Force has sought 63 Prithvi-II missiles worth Rs 906 crore.

The Navy has ordered Dhanush missiles (a variant of Prithvi, with a 330-kilometre range), worth Rs 116 crore, for its INS Subhadra and INS Suvarna, the two ‘dual-tasked’ warships.

Prithvi is the first missile developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Officials and members of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) have inspected the venues for the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi in October 2010. They also took a tour of the Games Village.

The visit by delegates from 71 countries comes in the backdrop of widespread criticism that the construction of the facilities are going on at a slow pace.

The general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation is being held in New Delhi next week.

The media was denied access to the delegates while they were taken by the local organisers on a tour of the stadiums and the Games Village. There was tight security, and the delegates were always surrounded by the officials and volunteers of the Organising Committee.

However, the local organisers later issued a statement, which included remarks from many of the visitors who praised the facilities and venues they inspected.

A month ago, Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, had said that he was “extremely worried” about preparations for the Games, adding that there was a “serious risk” that the facilities “would not live up to the organisational standards” of the two previous Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in England and Melbourne in Australia.

Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi, claimed that the delegates of the Commonwealth Games Federation were “happy” and “impressed” with the facilities being built for the 2010 Delhi Games.

She told reporters that the members of the inspecting team had their doubts cleared with the Organising Committee as also with the Delhi Government.

After the visit, at a presentation arranged by the local organisers, a few of the delegates did make adverse remarks about what they saw. While one delegate commented that New Delhi’s preparedness was “not up to scratch,” another team member, from the British Virgin Islands, said that thought the preparations were progressing at a fast pace, there is a lot more that needs to be done.

When asked by a reporter if everything was going on in the positive direction, Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, was not very forthcoming. Fennell just said that the day was a busy one and that he did not wish to make any further comments as “we are not two sides. “It is a process,” he added,” and “everyone is trying to make it work for the 2010 Games.”

Fennell said the delegates will make a statement after visiting all the venues and facilities.

It seems that the slow speed of the work was what worried the visiting delegates most, and many of them wanted to know how long it would take for all the sporting venues to be all set.

However, almost all the delegates were happy with the Commonwealth Games Village, and some of them praised that the Village for the Delhi Games would turn out to be one of the best Games Villages in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

The visiting team was also happy with the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Indira Gandhi Stadium and the Thyagraj Stadium.

The delegates also paid a visit to the National Stadium, the S P Mukherjee Aquatics Pool (this venue is one project that is progressing at a slow pace), and the Talkatora Indoor Stadium.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, after having vacillated for the last 5 years, has finally abandoned the ambitious project planned by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to inter-link the rivers in India.

The ambitious scheme, estimated to cost around Rs 5,60,000 crore, was intended to solve the country’s persistent shortage of water for drinking and irrigation.

However, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said the plan to inter-ink the rivers was rejected on the grounds that such a scheme will cause a “human, economic and an ecological disaster.”

The question of inter-linking of rivers, he added, has international ramifications, too, with Nepal and Bangladesh having already expressed their fears over the project. Bangladesh even went to the extent of lodging a complaint against India at the UN.

Jairam Ramesh’s announcement of discarding the colossal project comes about a month after Rahul Gandhi, MP and Congress general secretary, described the whole idea as “disastrous” at a news conference in Chennai. Rahul Gandhi had argued that the river-linking project is not only not economically feasible but also “extremely dangerous” to India’s environment.

When reporters pointed out that the UPA government had in fact considered some river-linking schemes and even finalised a few among them, Jairam Ramesh sought to explain the matter by saying that the government was not against any projects intended to transfer waters on local and inter-basin levels like linking the Betwa river and the Ken, and the Krishna and the Godavari, which were cleared by the previous UPA government.

The minister clarified that, in future, all other river-linking projects would be taken up on a “case-to-case” basis.

It may be noted that, while stepping down as Prime Minister after the National Democratic Alliance was defeated in the elections held in May 2004, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had personally wrote to Manmohan Singh, his successor, requesting the latter to go ahead with his two ambitious schemes – one, the inter-linking of the rivers in the country; the other, the Golden Quadrilateral plan that would connect the country’s 4 metros directly through road.

In October 2002, Prime Minister Vajpayee had formed a task force to get the river-linking project going, in the backdrop of the acute drought that year. The task force had submitted a report recommending division of the project into two – the Peninsular component and the Himalayan component.

The Peninsular component – involving the rivers in southern Indian – envisaged developing a ‘Southern Water Grid’ with 16 linkages. This component included diversion of the surplus waters of the Mahanadi and Godavari to the Pennar, Krishna, Vaigai and Cauvery; the diversion of the west-flowing rivers of Kerala and Karnataka to the east; the inter-linking of small rivers that flow along the west coast, south of Tapi and north of Mumbai; as well as inter-linking of the southern tributaries of the river Yamuna.

The Himalayan component envisaged building storage reservoirs on the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their main tributaries both in India and Nepal in order to conserve the flow of waters during the monsoons for irrigation and generation of hydro-power, besides checking floods.

The task force appointed by the Vajpayee government had identified 14 links that involved the following: Kosi-Ghagra, Kosi-Mech, Ghagra-Yamuna, Gandak-Ganga, Yamuna-Rajasthan, Rajasthan-Sabarmati, Sarda-Yamuna, Farakka-Sunderbans, Brahmaputra-Ganga, Subernarekha-Mahanadi, and Ganga-Damodar-Subernarekha.

Also, the task force had concluded that the linking of the rivers in the country would raise the irrigation potential to 160 million hectares for all types of crops by 2050, compared to a maximum of about 140 million hectares that could be generated through conventional sources of irrigation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced this in New Delhi while addressing a meeting held to celebrate the golden jubilee the Panchayati Raj.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of renaming the NREGA comes amidst reports that many state governments ruled by non-Congress parties are taking credit for the success of the programme.

Manmohan Singh said that, in spite of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution requiring that state legislatures should empower Panchayati Raj institutions, some states are not implementing the Panchayati Raj properly by depriving the rural councils of sufficient funds and manpower.

At the function, the prime Minister also declared the year 2009-10 as the year of the Gram Sabha (village councils).

Manmohan Singh said that renaming the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act would be a “befitting tribute” to the Father of the Nation. Mahatma Gandhi had staunchly advocated decentralisation of governance, or power, in order to make it more transparent as well as more effective in empowering the rural people.

The Panchayati Raj, the Prime Minister added, has become a crucial tool for carrying out the government’s welfare schemes since the system of decentralisation of power ensures that the common man gets a role in executing them. In spite of some problems at the initial stages, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has produced the desired results.

Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress and chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) told the convention marking the golden jubilee of the Panchayati Raj that the institution of Panchayati Raj is an effective instrument to bring about economic and social change in the country. She also recalled the contribution made by Rajiv Gandhi towards decentralisation of power.

Photo: Shashi Tharoor, MoS, External Affairs

It all started when Shashi Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and an active Twitter user replied to a tweet from journalist Kanchan Gupta. The question from Kanchan Gupta was:

Tell us Minister, next time you travel to Kerala, will it be cattle class?

The question was posed at 11:57 PM, Sep 14. At 12:17 AM, Shashi Tharoor replied: absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows.

Here are links for the Twitter user pages of Shashi Tharoor and Kanchan Gupta.

Major hungama ensued, and media went to town with it. Many were truly offended by the reference to the economy class as cattle class. Many more pretended to be offended.

Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan looked suitably morose, announcing that Congress found the term “unacceptable”. She conceded that the term “cattle class” was commonly used, but “we find it unacceptable because thousands of Indians travel on ordinary class.”

It did not end there. Many politicians added their voice to Twittergate. The controversy became worse when it was reported by Indian Express that the chief aide to Shashi Tharoor, one Mr Jacob Joseph took it upon himself to prove how right his boss was. He retweeted several tweets from many of Tharoor’s Twitter followers, who felt that Tharoor did nothing wrong in using the phrase “cattle class” and felt that Congress party, and Indian politicians in general, were a humourless lot. All this while there was no comment from Tharoor.

Sensing the anger – possibly at the top levels of the Congress party – sundry politicians in the Congress too jumped ito the fray. Rajasthan’s chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that Shashi Tharoor should tender his resignation before being asked to do so by the party. Gehlot said that the statement made about people travelling in economy class as “unfortunate,” and that Tharoor should not only apologise but submit his resignation.

It was revealed today that Shashi Tharoor called up Sonia Gandhi and spoke to her about the issue. The actual content of the conversation was not revealed, however.

When Rahul Gandhi was asked by the media about his response to the “cattle class” he replied that the party has said whatever it had to say.

Meanwhile, Tharoor apologised on his Twitter page. His apology was sent in a series of tweets that went thus:

holy cows are NOT individuals but sacrosanct issues or principles that no one dares challenge. Wish critics wld look it up

i now realize i shldnt assume people will appreciate humour. &u shouldn’t give those who wld wilfully distort yr words an opportnty to do so

i’m told it sounds worse in Malayalam, esp out of context. To those hurt by the belief that my repeating the phrase showed contempt: sorry

it’s a silly expression but means no disrespect to economy travellers, only to airlines for herding us in like cattle. Many have misunderstd

learned belatedly of fuss over my tweet replying to journo’s query whether i wld travel to Kerala in “cattle class”. His phrase which i rptd

But this does not seem to have satisfied the party. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari refused to acknowledge the apology, and said that “action would be taken at the appropriate time.”

First, what is cattle class?

For English speakers in India, cattle class is not a new term. As long back as I can remember, the term cattle class was sued to refer to the economy class of airlines. The term originated because people were packed into the economy class seats with not enough leg room or shoulder room, it was crowded, and a far cry from the comfort of the Business Class or First class in airlines.

It is not meant to insult the travellers in the economy class in any way.

A direct translation is not helpful in this case. Remember the “mother of all battles” phrase uttered by Saddam Hussein? The English translation sounded bombastic and funny at the same time – but in the flowery language used in Iraq, it was perfectly normal. We can all pick out phrases in our vernacular languages in India, translate them into English – and see how offensive some of them would sound.

Cattle Class is a derogatory term alright – but it is directed towards the airlines, not the passengers. Tharoor’s audience in Twitter are largely exposed to the English language term. But it seems several of the newspapers an TV channels which played it up were not. If I were running a newspaper, I would be embarrassed to make a controversy out of it. I would play it down. Why? It just exposes my lack of comprehension in commonly used English language phrases.

Was Shashi Tharoor wise in tweeting “cattle class”?

Not at all. Tharoor had just been asked – in the name of austerity – to leave his five star accommodation, and move somewhere cheaper. At that time, he had moved out, but only after replying that he was paying his own bills in the five-star hotel.

That is perfectly fine, but not in India. Here you have a party putting up a show of austerity with much fanfare, and you are supposed to follow suit proclaiming your admiration for those ideals. Remember how they hated the sanctimonious guy in college? It works something like that. Also, there is the fact that both Sonia Gandhi traveled by economy class, while Rahul Gandhi travelled by train just a day before his tweet. This is the Congress we are talking about – and while Sonia Gandhi has been pretty ineffective in controlling the infighting in the party in states like Kerala or Punjab, she does not apparently appreciate such witty rebellions.

Or perhaps Sonia Gandhi does not have a problem with the tweet. But maintaining the apparent infallibility of the High Command has always been an axiom in the Congress, and the High Command has to somehow recover lost ground once it has been questioned.

The role of the media in Twittergate

Nothing to be proud of, frankly. Instead of playing down what they knew was a case of misunderstanding of the term, they went on and on. It was kept alive by the media probably because at the time, there was no worthwhile news item in the pipeline. They went around looking for quotes, and politicians can’t resist it when media asks them for quotes. Well aware that the TV audience include large numbers who do not speak English, they did not want to be caught defending the ‘elite’ and stuck to the safe option that Tharoor went over the line in using the term cattle class. What other option did they have?

Post-cattle class brouhaha, some advice for Congress, Tharoor and the media

Or forget the media. The media knows what it has done. It will do it again. Even politicians in India can be shamed and named by persistent media, but shaming the media is another matter altogether.

For Shashi Tharoor

You know what you should do. Do it. Keep it quiet on Twitter. You are a writer, but watch every word you say. You are not dealing with just the people who populate Twitter or the upper middle class. What you write will be watched, and just as you received a lot of kudos for being tech-savvy and sophisticated enough to make the upper classes think you are their man, there are many who resent that, think you are an outsider, and waiting for something to trip you up on. Which they did this time.

Use simple English. Read your tweets a few times before you publish them. Journalists (in those days when they actually got some training) were told to write in such a way that someone who has not passed his high school would be able to comprehend them. Goes for you too.

It is rare that a first-time MP makes it to the cabinet. Put it to good use. Thiruvananthapuram voted you into Parliament with an overwhelming majority, and were thrilled to see you being made a MoS. DO not ruin it all.

Neither your English language skills or tech literacy matters in the hurly burly of Indian politics.

Here, you are not allowed to joke, or be casual or flippant. Sit tight and grab on to that chair.

Oh, and about that aide of yours – Jacob Joseph – who has no idea about public relations and thinks that retweeting attacks on Congress – you need to  deal with them. That was serious immaturity.

For Congress

Learn how to douse a fire. Shashi Tharoor asked for this trouble, fine. But leaving every Congressman to bad-mouth him reflects badly on the entire party. Perhaps you think that it was better that Congress shows some anger instead of allowing BJP to capitalise on this. If that is it, it was smart. But nevertheless, there is a limit to it.

Probably Congress thinks – rightly – that the aam aadmi voted them to power, and they have to keep their sensibilities in mind. True, but after the initial drama, play it down. Deal with Shashi Tharoor in private.

There is a theory I have – the “holy cows” phrase, not the “cattle class” one, is what has pissed Congress off. COming a day after Sonia’s and Rahul’s budget travel, it sounded suspiciously like he was taking a potshot at them. He may not have been, and maybe was just referring to the holy cow of pretend-austerity. But that is not what it might sound like to ears ready to listen to any hint of a dig at the holy family!

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the OCCG, declared that “we will hold the best Commonwealth Games ever” and that “nobody should have doubts over that.”

Preparations for stadia and accommodation for the athletes in New Delhi are two of the major issues which many are doubtful about even now.

Randhir Singh, vice-chairman of the OCCG, also said the Games would be held as scheduled in New Delhi in October 2010, but added that the Organising Committee “needed to be decentralised with sub-committees being given more powers to function.” It may be noted that, of late, there have been differences of opinion between Suresh Kalmadi and Randhir Singh on conducting the Games.

Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, had recently criticised the Organising Committee and had sought an “urgent meeting” with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “salvage” the Commonwealth Games. On the negative comments made by Michael Fennell, Suresh Kalmadi remarked that “we respect his views.” However, Randhir Singh, in a confidential communication, described Fennell’s criticism as “a wake-up call” for the Organising Committee. Officials of the Organising Committee also allayed fears that the stadia might not be completed on time.

Lalit K Bhanot, secretary-general of the OCCG, explained that there are “no slippages at all,” that “every stadium in Delhi is being readied according to schedule” and that none of the test events has been put off.

According to Bhanot, it would be unwise to buy equipment so early since storage would be a problem. He promised that “everything will be in place” a few months before Commonwealth Games 2010 opens.

Suresh Kalmadi went on to say that, just as the 1982 Asian Games brought in colour television to India, the 2010 Commonwealth Games will mark the arrival of high-definition TV in the country.

Security, which is a matter of serious concern to overseas delegates, will be “foolproof.” Tejendra Khanna, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, is monitoring the security procedure, Kalmadi added.

The Union Home Secretary had, earlier in September, briefed the heads of missions of Commonwealth Games Federation’s member-countries on security. A full-fledged meeting of security commanders will be held in New Delhi on September 23 and 24 to discuss further the security arrangements for the Games.

Kalmadi said an Australia-based security agency was visiting Delhi once every two months, adding that the ultimate responsibility for security was with the Union Home Ministry.

Meanwhile, a review conducted by the Union Ministry of Tourism showed that there would be a shortage of hotel rooms in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games.

According to the review, only 3,952 out of the 9,500 ‘confirmed’ hotel rooms – just 41% – are at present ready, with hardly 6 months to go for the March 2010 deadline to expire.

What is more, out of the 2,194 ‘likely’ rooms expected to be readied in time for the October 2010 Games, only 50% will be ready, the review by the Union Ministry of Tourism revealed.

While the ‘’confirmed’ rooms are those rooms certain to be in place in time for the Games, the ‘likely’ rooms are those rooms “expected to be ready.”  Hence, as of now, there is a shortage of about 6,500 rooms.

March 2010 had been fixed as the deadline for the completion of the rooms in order to give time for guests to make bookings and related activities.

The Ministry of Tourism said that it had estimated a demand for 40,000 rooms. Out of this, 10,150 rooms are already available, with plans to build about 10,000 more rooms. For the rest, guesthouses and other buildings will be used.

Last year, it was said that homestays would be an accommodation option for tourists visiting New Delhi during Commonwealth Games 2010, however, there is no update on the same.