National Elections 2004 Apr 17: Poll-Pourri

Too quick
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It is election time and political parties are anxious to make political capital as fast as a trader may want to make an extra buck. The BJP general secretary and spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, is, therefore, not to be blamed. He thought he was doing his political duty. Still smarting from the Supreme Court’s stinging judgment in the Best Bakery case, Mr. Naqvi was quick to make a counter-attack too quick, it turned out.

He sought the retrial of the 28 accused in the Mumbai serial blasts case, preferably outside Maharashtra, as all the accused had been acquitted. “Where are those activists of the National Human Rights Commission who have been making such a to do about the victims of the Gujarat riots? What do they have to say now? Weren’t those killed in the blasts human? Didn’t they have any human rights?” His tirade went on at the BJP’s briefing the other day and he pointed a finger of suspicion at the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party State government for botching up the case against the terrorists who had created havoc and panic in Mumbai just over 10 years ago.

By evening Mr. Naqvi and the BJP realised that those acquitted were Shiv Sena activists. So, he faxed another statement to newspaper offices, retracting what he had said earlier.

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Best is yet to be?
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Though approaching 80, the Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan, seems very sensitive about his age. “Who says I am 80? I am just 77,” he says. Visibly upset by the use of the term “old”, Mr. Jagmohan who carries the tag of being one of the most active Cabinet Ministers recites a line from a popular English poem: “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”

And then goes on to claim: “I am not only physically cent per cent fit, but also mentally young. The best in me is yet to come.” Seeking re-election from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Jagmohan has challenged his main rival, Ajay Maken of the Congress, to undertake a trek to the sacred Vaishno Devi shrine. “I am sure he will be tired, while I will be as fresh as a morning flower,” he claims.

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Apolitical
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This is one film star who has chosen to be political without joining a political party. “I am not here to align myself with any party”, actor Rahul Bose told an elite Mumbai audience at the Indian Merchants Chamber. All the speakers before him, including the HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, had used the opportunity to endorse the candidature of Milind Deora, the Congress candidate from Mumbai South. When his turn came, Bose who besides being a successful actor and director has been speaking out on several issues particularly against communalism struck a decidedly different note.

“Can I make a difference by being a political animal,” he asked. And answered, “Yes, I can. I don’t vote because I can, but because I must. There is no democracy if people don’t vote. And who we vote for depends on what kind of country we want to live in for the next 50 years.”