Give Hussain some credit

Union civil aviation minister, Shahnawaz Hussain, is a man of simple means. Not only does he not feel the need to possess that ubiquitous modern day convenience that is the credit card, but he also doesn’t require too much cash on his person to keep him going. Indeed, Mr Hussain is quite confident that he can survive in Bihar, his home state, with just a rupee in his pocket!

Clearly, this is one minister who puts a lot of faith in the love his constituency has for him. But, what about his travels abroad? If the personal credit of a politician is correlated with geographical boundaries, as it seems to be in Mr Hussain’s case, guess the aviation minister can be expected to carry wads of cash and/or travellers cheques everytime he undertakes a phoren trip. For, he can count neither upon a non-existent credit card, nor upon the affections of a phirang people!

Body language

Was external affairs minister Jaswant Singh caught off-gaurd shaking hands and smiling in the presence of his Pakistani counterpart? Unlikely. While BJP loyalists insist that Mr Singh’s was a “forced” smile and that he may not have known that he was on candid camera, diplomatic insiders say that Mr Singh is far too sophisticated a diplomat to have allowed himself to be so photographed if he did not want to be.

Reliable sources say that when Mr Sattar’s predecessor came to New Delhi in the aftermath of the Kargil war, Mr Singh had fully rehearsed every move he would make –– his exact facial expression before the cameras, whether he would extend his hand for a handshake or keep it in his trouser pocket. Pakistan was then given a clear message that India was angry, real angry. So what should one make of Mr Singh’s smile in Kathmandu? That India approves of the moves made by the Musharraf government to rein in the terrorists in J&K? Time will tell. Keep watching Mr Singh’s face!