The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has an “invisible” spokesman who can neither be seen nor heard — only read. Unsigned statements from this “spokesman” are delivered at the desk of every journalist but a stony silence greets you if you happen to question “his” identity. Whenever a scribe wishes to ask a question or seek a reaction from this “spokesman”, he is nowhere to be found.

Also, questions regarding the identity of the spokesman have been brusquely brushed aside by Chief Minister Mayawati. No one at the sprawling BSP office in Lucknow has ever heard of him and when questions are raised, party workers exchange mysterious glances and simply walk away.

For TV channels, this anonymous spokesman is proving to be a major problem since every statement on the screen needs a face — pretty or otherwise! Now with the Assembly elections approaching, the search for the ever-elusive spokesman has intensified. There are even SMS jokes that promise extra talktime for life if anyone can correctly name the BSP spokesman. Another SMS promises a free ticket in the next election for the same reason. Any takers?

Jobs for the boys

The Supreme Court (SC) order making Salwa Judum unconstitutional and disbanding it has not really made it irrelevant. Rather, the special police officers (SPOs) — tribal cops recruited on honorarium to assist security forces in anti-Maoist operations — are much more in demand now. The state BJP government was quick to react to the SC verdict, assuring the SPOs that none of them would be rendered jobless and that they would be absorbed in the state police as regulars.

The assurance serves two purposes of the ruling BJP. One, it will prevent the SPOs from moving to the Maoist fold. Two, the SPOs, with a strength of nearly 6,000, will help the BJP retain its tribal votebank in Bastar region, where the ruling party holds 11 out of 12 Assembly seats. The principal Opposition party, the Congress, is also wooing them by trying to cash in on their disillusionment following the SC order. The party has promised to take up the issue in Delhi to ensure their permanent rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, the Maoists have also extended an open invitation to SPOs to join their rank, promising them “roti, kapda aur makaan and also security”.

Ph.D. dream

Most netas are skilled in practical politics but Rajasthan’s minister of state for education Mangilal Garasia learned the hard way that there is a big difference between theory and practice. Mr Garasia, who took the Ph.D. entrance examination conducted by MS University in Udaipur on May 15 to study his favourite subject political science, has flunked. When the result was declared on July 13, the minister’s name was missing from the list of successful candidates. Although Mr Garasia claimed that he had done fairly well in the exam, the result proved otherwise.

Mr Garasia, a three-time member of the Legislative Assembly, represents Gogunda constituency of Udaipur. The result disappointed his followers who were waiting to greet the minister with bouquets and sweets. All wannabe politicians in his region regard Mr Garasia as a source of inspiration for practical politics, but for theory they would have to look somewhere else. “If the question paper included issues like dharnas, bhookh hartal and waade, there was no question of any politician flunking,” a Congress worker quipped.

Mamata’s green impulse

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s impromptu announcements are causing serious problems for her Cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats. Addressing a gathering in Kolkata to promote the green cause, she was scheduled to announce planting of one crore trees in the state in the next one year. But when she rose to speak, she suddenly changed the original plan and announced that the state government would “distribute” one crore saplings in schools and colleges and plant three crore saplings on its own.

“If need be, we will also plant another one crore saplings because green is our life and soul,” she declared. In effect, a sudden steep rise in the number of trees to be planted — from one to four or even five crore. State forest minister Hiten Burman, who was present on the occasion, was aghast at the daunting prospect of procuring five crore saplings. Given the party’s (Trinamul) name and work at the grassroots level, the minister needn’t feel daunted in his green task.

Reward in reverse

The recent reshuffle of the Union Cabinet has put the Congress leaders of Assam in a fix.
A day before the Cabinet reshuffle took place, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had claimed that there will be an increase in the number of leaders from the state in the Union Cabinet. As the media also started speculating about the inclusion of at least one minister, the party projected it as a reward for sweeping the Assembly polls with a record-breaking 78 seats.

And yet Bijoy Krishna Handique was dropped from the Union Cabinet on health grounds and Pawan Singh Ghatowar was included, but only as a minister of state. Now no Congress leader is coming forward to respond to the charges of the Opposition that the party rewards leaders by demoting them in the Union Cabinet.