Mamata slams news brake
It was not exactly West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s baptism by fire because the AMRI Hospital catastrophe in which over 93 hapless patients were choked to death following a fire in its basement took place six months after she took up the reins of the state in her hands.

Close on the heels of the AMRI tragedy, 173 persons died after consuming illicit liquor in South 24 Parganas.
December definitely proved to be the most difficult month for the fledgling state government. A harried Ms Banerjee was extremely peeved with the electronic media, which she felt went overboard in its coverage of disasters and calamities — both natural and man-made. On January 1, when Ms Banerjee thought that the worst was over, another fire broke out in a bank on the iconic Park Street, which is the nerve centre of Christmas and New Year celebrations in the city. Expectedly, the vernacular television channels covered it extensively, causing Ms Banerjee much discomfort.
“Why electronic media goes on and on covering a single incident is beyond my comprehension. Now it seems that if someone spills boiling water from a kettle at a roadside tea-stall, even that will become breaking news (sic),” she said.
It has been a scalding December for Didi no doubt.

Harvest of tears
Weeping politicians make for good visuals on television. In Uttar Pradesh, tears, especially if they are rolling down VIP cheeks, mean opportunities and maybe a rising career graph.
But tears as vote-catchers? Canny politicos in Lucknow will swear by it. Take minister Avadesh Varma, who sobbed on national television after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati gave him marching orders and within 24 hours hearts in the BJP melted. Mr Varma was embraced by the BJP and given a ticket to contest the upcoming Assembly poll.
Earlier, former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Guddu Pandit wept inconsolably before journalists about the threat to his life and the Samajwadi Party (SP) immediately ushered him into its parlour. Mr Pandit later lost his membership of the House but got a ticket from the SP. If the grapevine is to be believed, more politicians are reaching out for the glycerin. If nothing works, cry.

Above tai and bhai
Gopal Bhargava, the newly appointed minister in-charge of Indore district, has got ideas about a new cohesive BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Indore has always remained in the news because of the cut-throat competition and rivalry for political space between two BJP heavyweights — former Union minister Sumitra Mahajan and state industry minister Kailash Vijayvargiya. On his maiden visit to this business capital of Madhya Pradesh after assuming his new charge, Mr Bhargava took a cue from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s earlier statement that all ministers should treat themselves as chief ministers of districts where they are in charge and went on to say that now there would be no room for factions headed by Sumitra “Tai” or Kailash “Bhai”. “All party workers will now work under the single umbrella of BJP,” was Mr Bhargava’s stern message with the appendage that his diktat must not be ignored, as he is senior to both Tai and Bhai.

The glib and the glum
The ruling Congress’ leaders in Rajasthan recently held a two-day workshop to prepare party workers to counter their rivals, including the BJP, in repartee. Over 300 Congress workers were selected and sent to Jaipur, where experienced Congressmen gave them tips on how to impressively showcase the party’s achievements. All-India Congress Committee spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi was also present to share his experiences with enthusiastic party workers who had trooped in to hone their skills in countering and cornering rivals from the saffron party.
When the trainees returned not all of them felt really rewarded by the exposure and training in PR and oratory. Most were disappointed. “They gave us tips and taught many things, including the party’s history, policies and leadership. But there was no word on how to manage a ticket,” a Congress worker who attended the workshop said, adding that that was the reason why some of them were glum.
“Ye sab bekar hai. Sabse bada sawal ye hai ki ticket kaise milega (All this is futile. The biggest question is how to manage a ticket in the elections),” murmured another party worker. A large number of leaders and workers who went to the workshop were thinking it would be a way to ensure ticket in the next elections, a Congress insider in the state said.
So much for Congress general secretary’s drive to inspire the cadre over the past few years.

Press kit on wheels
Day one of the media preview at the ongoing 11th Auto Expo in Delhi was quite a sight with reporters roaming around with bulky press kits. The most conspicuous of the kits was the one from Maruti Suzuki — an airbag with an attached trolley. As the Maruti press conference was held at 9 am, the scribes had to drag the airbag containing the press release and some goodies throughout the day to the various pavilions they visited. With most of them carrying backpacks, suitcases and airbag-cum-press kits, the venue looked like an airport lounge. But whether the scribes were saddled with the kit or aided in their coverage by the puny wheels will be known from the good or bad coverage the carmaker eventually gets.

One CM too many
Little did Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh know that he would be adding to the infighting in the Chhattisgarh unit of Congress when he described party’s state president Nand Kumar Patel as the “future chief minister” during his recent tour of the state.
The dapper Union minister made the remark off the cuff while answering questions from scribes at Raipur airport on January 2. Mr Patel, who along with a host of state leaders was at the airport to receive him, had however laughed off the comments with the interjection, “Arre baapre (Oh God).” But this was no salve for the faction-ridden state unit. Union minister of state for agriculture Charan Das Mahant, who was also present at the airport, appeared to have pulled a long face over Mr Ramesh’s remarks. Mr Mahant is considered a frontrunner in the race for chief minister, if the Congress returns to power in the state in 2013.
Soon, former chief minister Ajit Jogi, another contender for the post, joined other chief ministerial aspirants in the Congress to criticise Mr Ramesh for “stirring” an “avoidable and unnecessary” controversy in the party by making an “unwanted comment” on such a sensitive issue. “Has Mr Ramesh taken Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s consent before passing such a remark?” Mr Jogi questioned. By the time Mr Ramesh had left Chhattisgarh, the state unit forced Mr Patel to issue a statement describing the Union minister’s remark as “merely a friendly joke”.