Amar, Akbar... What’s his name?
Antony... A. K. Antony – Integrity, honesty and loyalty, finally arrive at the Ministry of Defence

(column by Sharad Gupta)

He is one of the few good men who dared to enter the politics and succeeded too. Moreover, he has never been accused of any corrupt practices. Yet, he has been resigning at the drop of a hat from almost every high post that he has held so far. Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, 65, who was appointed Defence Minister of India on October 23, has an unblemished career spanning over 45 years now.

Antony, like the first Defence Minister of India, V. K. Krishna Menon, hails from Kerala. But, the similarity ends here. While Menon was known for his aristocratic lifestyle, Antony leads a Spartan life. While Menon was a very good orator, Antony is a good organiser and even better administrator. And while Menon had to resign from Jawahar Lal Nehru’s cabinet after the 1962 Sino-India war debacle, Antony has been resigning from every post on his own sweet will.

He has the unique distinction of serving as Kerala’s chief minister thrice. He was the youngest state Congress president at 32, and also the youngest chief minister of Kerala at 36. But he resigned from the post when Indira Gandhi decided to contest the Lok Sabha by-elections from Chikmanglur in 1978. It was a decision based on his principles and he preferred to bow out of the party than compromise. He joined the CPM, though he was not comfortable with their ideology. He was subsequently brought back into the Congress by the then Kerala strongman, K. Karunakaran. Interestingly enough, he had sided with Indira Gandhi’s faction when the congress split in 1969.

He was again appointed the Chief Minister in 1995 and then again in 2001. He resigned as the Chief Minister in 2004 owning moral responsibility of Congress’s poor performance in Kerala. He has served in the Union Cabinet earlier also, as Civil Supplies Minister in P. V. Narasimha Rao’s cabinet. But he again resigned when a cabinet colleague indicated that he might have cleared the sugar import that had turned out to be a scandal due to charges of commission and embezzlement of government moneys.

In the meantime, he was twice elected to Rajya Sabha – from 1985 to 1991 and from 1991 to 1996. But the reality is that Antony had actually stepped into politics during his college days itself, by leading a number of agitations against the then E. M. S. Namboodiripad government in 1957. He anchored the students’ strike demanding lowering of boat charges for students of Kuttanadu; and then another agitation challenging eviction of some farmers by church authorities.

Antony is a man of few needs. He doesn’t keep anything gift ed to himself but distributes it among colleagues. After demitting the CM’s office in 1996, he donated all expensive gift s bestowed on him to a museum, saying, “I do not want wealth. I have never bought even a bicycle.” For such a man, it might be difficult to make friends, but Antony has indeed made many, who have stood by him through thick and thin. One of them is the Union Minister for Overseas Affairs, Vyalar Ravi, while another is Oomen Chandy, who succeeded him as the Chief Minister in 2004. “He is too good to be in politics,” says Chandy. Antony married Elizabeth on Chandy’s prodding. Now he has two children and a house bought most surprisingly with his wife’s bank loan.

He is not known to take quick decisions, as he thoroughly goes through all ramifications. This might affect his current Defence Ministry job as all the three wings are in dire need of modernisation. But perhaps, it’s better to take delayed decisions, than have some more Bofors, HDW submarine and Barack missile scams. But what about decisions related to protecting our nation’s borders? Well, his predecessors, with their ‘ultra-fast’ responses, have given us Kargil. Could he really be worse?

(End of Sharad Gupta column)

Turmoil Nadu...er, Tamil Nadu!
TN can’t afford Karunanidhi’s ludicrous freebie offers to voters

(column by Neha Gupta)

People sneered at DMK leader M. Karunanidhi’s promise of a colour television for every below poverty line (BPL) family during the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. Karunanidhi won handsomely, became the Chief Minister, started distributing TVs and making more promises. It sounded ridiculous! Why should somebody, who has just been voted as the Chief Minister, make further promises like free LPG connections, two acres land free and rice at Rs.2 per kg to all BPL families? Actually, we shouldn’t even have asked the question... the local elections were round the corner, and the ruling DMK-PMK alliance, quite expectedly, landed with a bigger victory against the duo of Jayalalitha and her foe-turned friend, Vaiko.

The first phase of elections were held in 45 municipalities, 281 town panchayats and 195 panchayat unions. Jayalalitha accused DMK workers of bogus polling and rigging. Karunanidhi retaliated by accusing the opposition of instigating violence during the first phase of the local elections. Factually, violence, booth capturing and rigging marred the Chennai Municipal Corporation elections, although allegedly rigged places, like the Tuticorin district, where poll turnout was 61%, had Collectors like R. Palaniyandi denying any allegation of bogus polling. He asserted, “The verification revealed that ballot papers used in the poll process commensurate with the total votes polled in the Ward.” And now, with Ramadoss’ PMK breaking out of the DMK alliance on October 30, 2006, Karunanidhi would only improve upon the strategy he used to win the previous elections – inanely giving away freebies at the cost of the exchequer. Perhaps he doesn’t realize that even states with 100% literacy (like Kerala) have gone bankrupt on the back of such similar measures. And it wouldn’t take Tamil Nadu that long to capitulate. But hey, who cares, now let’s give them all trips to Switzerland, shall we?

(End of Neha Gupta column)

Salem’s running...for elections
Parties supporting Abu Salem’s candidature are contemptible

(column by Niharika Patra)

I am a true Indian and given a chance can change the path of any tempest, will save the country and make it prosper,” sounds like the words of a politician. Well, guessed it wrong! It’s a slogan coined by the dreaded don – Abu Salem – who seems geared up to contest the coming assembly elections in UP. Currently lodged in a Mumbai jail for his alleged involvements in the 1993 Mumbai blast, over 20,000 posters of white-kurta clad Salem are pasted all over his hometown, Azamgarh. Posing as a follower of Gandhian principles, Salem has been able to win a few followers who unintelligibly garble up that he is fighting elections from his own place and till now the case against him has not been proved.

Salem is not the first of his kind, participation of criminals in Indian politics has now become a common phenomenon. Salem’s audacity only exposes the level to which the Indian political system has fallen.

Criminalisation of politics can no longer be brushed under the carpet. Even innocent and honest politicians, a dwindling breed, is not in a position to make any substantial difference. But the issue is not just about a mafia don vying to acquire political power, but more importantly about the support he is receiving from legitimate political entities like BSP and Shiv Sena. Very unfortunately, mass illiteracy within India brings with it additional stigmas, one of them being the contemptible support Salem's garnering, and that too from parties that were expected to uphold some semblance of sensible patriotism. If Salem can do this, guess we’ll have to just settle for Dawood as PM one day...

(End of Niharika Patra column)

Breakfast at Crawford & all will be well!
By using smart diplomatic moves, Bush can undermine the Iranian regime

Like North Korea, the Iranian government will not shy from a showdown over its nuclear program. Why should it? A nuclear weapon is the ultimate guarantee that the United States can never do to Iran what it did to Iraq. Moreover, this struggle with the US rallies much-needed domestic support.

What, then, can the US do? As the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, Iran has profited mightily from tripling of global oil prices over the last four years. It’s economic stability is dependent on oil revenues, so it is here that Iran’s rulers are vulnerable. American diplomats are never going to persuade the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran’s energy exports. But the Bush administration can seek ways to contain global energy prices – and it should begin by refusing to be baited into escalating tensions whenever Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pleases. Ahmadinejad has proven resourceful in driving the diplomatic conflict. His government has rejected international calls to halt uranium enrichment, ignored UN-imposed deadlines, armed Iraqi militias, supplied Hezbollah with weapons, denied the Holocaust & staged military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of the world’s sea-traded oil passes. All this has helped inflate oil prices, enriching the Iranian government.

When Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hinted that Iran could play the oil card, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the idea. “Let’s just remember that Iran is some 80% dependent on oil in its budget,” she said, so it is “not really able to live with a disruption.” But if Iran pulls modest amounts of its oil from international markets, price increases are likely to off set (perhaps completely) any loss in revenue from the supply cut. In addition, threats to the Strait of Hormuz would allow Iran to force prices up without any reduction in output.

At times, the US has effectively – if unintentionally – undercut Iran’s position. This summer, the Bush administration offered Iran direct talks. In September, Bush made an unexpectedly low-key speech to the UN General Assembly. Resistance to sanctions from Russia, China and France persuaded the US officials to “allow more time for diplomacy” before pushing for punitive action in the Security Council. All this helped return slack to energy markets. Oil prices have fallen from over $78 per barrel in mid-July to less than $60 in early October. The drop – owing much to easing of tensions over Iran’s nuclear program – is costing the Iranian government dearly.

Inflation in Iran is rising, perhaps to as high as 20%. There are price freezes on certain subsidised goods & services and rising inflation makes subsidies even more expensive for the government. Unemployment is at around 12% and probably twice as high among young people.

The US can undermine the Iranian regime by avoiding statements and actions that help drive energy prices higher and bolster Iran’s economy. Administration officials should lower the political temperature. They should again offer Iran direct talks. Bush should invite Ahmadinejad to Washington. Better yet, invite him to Crawford. Make him breakfast. Washington can also press the Saudis, who control virtually all the world’s spare capacity, to keep output high to contain prices. Saudi Arabia’s ruling Sunnis are more threatened than the US by Iran’s support towards Shia Muslims. Yes, Ahmadinejad will probably find a way to re-escalate the conflict. No one can stop Iran from threatening the Strait of Hormuz. But no one can blame the US for that when Bush is offering to talk.

Iran probably needs two or three years to develop a nuclear weapon. How strong will Ahmadinejad’s domestic position be then? If the US does not provide him with threats that help rally domestic support, his failure to revitalize Iran’s economy will erode his standing at home. Lower oil prices would mean less money to spend on domestic projects that buoy his popularity or on the nuclear program.

If cutting into Iran’s oil income fails to weaken Ahmadinejad, the US would retain military options. But undermining his domestic standing by limiting Iran’s revenues stands a better chance of succeeding than diplomatic efforts to persuade the regime to suspend uranium enrichment voluntarily or coercive sanctions. Easing tensions will not win Bush points with those who prefer a muscular strategy. But the administration’s confrontational approach is failing, because it is precisely what Iran’s rulers want.