Inside Track: Prime minister's 'illness' drives media frenzy

Notwithstanding the slew of reports on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's health, the truth is that the prime minister is hale and hearty.

All that has happened is that he contracted a throat virus while in Lucknow, his parliamentary constituency, and, on the advice of the physician accompanying him, cancelled his engagements in the city.

Federal Minister for Tourism and Culture Jagmohan, who was with Vajpayee at the time in Lucknow, saw it first hand how the PM found it hard to speak. Indeed, at a function where the prime minster was present, senior minister in the Mayawati government, Lalji Tandon, asked Jagmohan to speak at length since "Vajpayee has literally lost his voice and cannot address the large audience".

When even after relatively long speeches by Jagmohan, Lalji Tandon and other local dignitaries the large crowd got restive and clamoured for the prime minister, the latter relented. But he could barely mutter into the mike.

His other engagements in the city were cancelled and he flew back to the capital to rest and recover.

But the media went to town, speculating all manner of political reasons for what it dubbed "political illness". Newspapers across the country said that Vajpayee had been given an ultimatum by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to hand over the disputed site in Ayodhya or else they would pull him down.

Other less malicious reporters said he had cut down his Lucknow visit because he did not want to face the wrath of the BJP legislators whose ministerial claims had been ignored in the recent expansion of the Mayawati Ministry in UP.

Mercifully, the media this time was nowhere near as reckless as it was when Vajpayee first became prime minister some four years ago.

At that time, a woman journalist had spread the canard that Vajpayee was suffering from cancer.

Apropos Vajpayee's health, his ministerial colleagues and senior bureaucrats vouch that he is mentally as alert as anyone else in the cabinet. He presides over cabinet meetings, listening with rapt attention to various points of view before summing up the essence of the discussion succinctly in a very effective manner.

Often he sits in meetings which last more than three hours. At the recent meeting of state chief ministers and finance ministers in the capital, Vajpayee presided over the proceedings for over three hours.

Vajpayee's only problem continue to be his knees, but this is one prime minister who is not weak kneed!

Harayana Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala likes to say it as it is. And these days he is hopping mad at what he calls the excesses of the judiciary. At a recent meeting of high state dignitaries Chautala let fly against the judiciary, asserting that it had poached on the executive's domain.

Chautala, who has inherited his father the late Devi Lal's blunt and brusque manner of speaking, added for good measure that he was not afraid of being hauled up for contempt of court and that he was ready to go to jail for saying what needed to be said, that is, the judiciary should stay within the constitutional four walls instead of encroaching on the functions and role of the executive and legislature.

Trying to catch him young before he gets too pricey, a senior executive of a sports sponsorship firm which already handles the commercial contracts of a couple of top notch Indian cricketers, went to Ahmedabad to sign up Parthiv Patel.

The young Patel who has aroused the curiosity of the cricket-crazy nation as much for his superb wicket-keeping in the recent matches against England and lately against West Indies as for his child-like face came to the hotel riding a scooter with his uncle on the pillion.

Patel, '17 going on 14' as a commentator put it, was not qualified yet to own a driving licence.
Asked why he was driving, Patel mumbled words to the effect that "in Ahmedabad it was alright, besides they all recognise me here".

Knowing that there was a great curiosity value, the sponsorship firm was keen to sign him up before rivals got into the act.

But there was a minor hitch. Which was that Patel was not old enough to sign on his own behalf. Being a minor, his interests had to be vetted by his parents or their nominated guardian. His father could hardly move out of the house having suffered from a paralytic stroke some years ago. The uncle accompanying him was sent to watch his interests.

The discussions proved inconclusive though the sponsorship firm was still interested in clinching the deal before the 'bachha' (child) of the Indian side was snapped up by some other sports sponsorship agency.

Interestingly, it was a moot point as to who had signed the contract on behalf of Patel with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Such a contract laying down the terms of payment and conditions of play is mandatory for each player selected to represent India.

Maybe for BCCI minors are fit enough to sign contracts while for all other purposes they are not.

While on cricket, central intelligence agencies have stepped up the security of India's reigning sporting icon, Sachin Tendulkaar, and captain of the national team, Saurav Ganguly, after they unearthed a terrorist plot to kidnap them.

Apparently, the plot was to take Tendulkar or Ganguly hostage and then demand the release of one of the dreaded foreign terrorists now in detention in a high security prison in Rajasthan in exchange of the hostages.

Both the players have now been provided foolproof round-the-clock security. Although the entire team is provided adequate security for the entire duration of international matches, once the team disperses each player is on his own.