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Power: The Infrastructure Muddle

Sexuality after Fifty Myths and Reality

The first facet of BJP President Venkaiah Naidu’s ‘dynamism’ came into display with his determination to give the party a new look. He has begun with the dress of the staff of the BJP headquarters on Ashoka Road. He called Textiles Minister Kanshiram Rana and ‘thought loudly’ that the staff at the party headquarters should have some kind of a dress code. Rana took the matter rather seriously, and asked his staff to locate and send some dress designers for discussions with the party president. It took only sixty minutes for a car load of designers, tailors and ‘cloth experts’ to land up at Ashoka Road and attend a three-hour long discussion with Naidu. Ultimately, it was decided that the class four staff would wear the party flag on their shirts while staff comprising clerks and above would wear the symbol of the lotus.
However, when it came to the dress code for party functionaries, Naidu fobbed off the question with the statement that ‘time would take its own course’. However, after taking other members of the Sangh Pariwar into confidence, it would not be surprising if the ‘official’ dress for BJP functionaries becomes what already signifies the party in another avatar-the khaki shorts.

Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, the capable and well-informed journalist that he is, knows fully well that all the members of his party and of the opposition are not happy with the way in which he is going all out to sell off blue chip companies in the public sector. Day in and day out, he is besieged with adverse comments about his decisions and generally is prepared to ward them off. But recently, during a discussion in the Lok Sabha, he was stumped for an answer. An opposition member wanted to know why the Disinvestment Minister was not in favour of privatising the Government Press that is involving in printing the paper currency of the Government of India. Shourie was floored and just smiled the question away.

It was a debate on CNG and its use in vehicles in the national capital. It was boring and longwinded and speaker after speaker went on and on about the pros and cons of the use of CNG fuel for vehicles. The speakers and the listeners seemed bored and disgusted. The seminar was organised by the ONGC and many senior officers of the Commission were also present. One of them decided to inject some hilarity into the proceedings which, he thought, might wake up the sleepers among the audience. He got up from his seat, caught hold of the mike, and posed the question: "Do you know what ONGC stands for"? The audience thought the questioner was insulting their intelligence and were just ready with angry retorts when the questioner himself gave the answer: "It means that Oil is Natural and Gas is Commissioned". The anger of the audience dissolved into laughter.

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