A ‘lunatic’ forecast
Dr.Manmohan Singh and his Navagrahas - this is what the signs portend for the Prime Minister of India - after the lunar eclipse on June 15th, the positions of the planets are said to change. But as the whispers in the corridors of power are that, for Dr. Singh, the Saturn is Baba Ramdev and not be left behind are the other eight planets that are seen as the harbingers of the downfall of UPA2 and thereby of Dr Singh:

M J Akbar, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, K N Govindacharya, Cho Ramaswamy, S.Gurumurthy, Sadhvi Rithambara, Prashant Bhushan, and Anna Hazare.

This has led to the UPA2 keeping a close watch on their movements; and the Government apprehends ‘danger’ in the winter session of the Parliament, with a new concept of RathYatra on the Lokpal Bill.

Business is thicker than Politics
Two DMK Union Ministers who have business interests in the state of Tamil Nadu are displaying keen interest in getting closer to the AIADMK.

This move is aimed at smooth functioning of their respective businesses. This is not the only surprise; another speculation after Jayalalithaa’s visit to Delhi is that a family member of DMK leader Karunanidhi had a hush-hush meeting with a couple of AIADMK leaders. These maneuverings are prepared for a possible post-Karunanidhi scenario.

Telecom Woes
RAX (Restricted Automatic Exchange) telephones are provided to Union Ministers and tothe Secretaries to Government of India. This is to facilitate seamless communication but this didn’t seem to work as two Union Ministers had to face the dysfunctional telephone lines.

The first one belonged to Jairam Ramesh, whose RAX phone was under repair, as the complaint said that the phone line was dead, but MK Alagiri, who uses RAX to speak to DMK Ministers faced even better a situation. In the era of 3G connectivity, Alagiri’s phone is the ‘rotating dial’ type. Remember the black phones of yore? A little bird tells us that Alagiri was seen gesturing wildly at the antique piece that is kept in his chambers. But Alagiri is not complaining as the Union Home Ministry and the Intelligence Bureau maintain the RAX. No tapping here!

Compiled by our New Delhi correspondent