BELOW THE LINE. Wrong number

The BJP claims to now have 10 crore members, making it the largest political party in the world. It also celebrated this “achievement” across the States. But in its drive to enrol new members, it has been rather reckless.

Even Congress leaders in Gujarat, where the ruling party claims to have one crore members (out of a 5.5 crore population!), have received SMSes from the BJP, “congratulating” them on becoming members! One such leader was Virji Thummar, former Congress MP from Amreli, who was “allotted” his membership number: 1100240673. Even bureaucrats and journalists have not been ‘spared’. One of them got this SMS: “Welcome to BJP. Your Primary Membership no. is 1100720009. SMS your Name, Address and Pincode (if possible Email & Voter ID) to 09242492424 to complete the process.” Clearly, the BJP did not even know whom it was conferring its premium membership on!

Ambush activism

India Inc got a taste of ambush activism recently at a seminar organised by Ficci on intellectual property. A group of young activists, wearing white t-shirts that read “HIV Positive”, rushed in front of the dais shouting “Don’t kill us!” After repeated requests from the moderator to allow the conference to proceed, one of the activists read out a statement seeking relaxed IP norms in India to help poor people get cheaper medicines. Only after an and assurance from the moderator that their point had been heard was the conference allowed to proceed.

Insider information

A former billionaire in the dock for alleged diversion of funds to another group company is learnt to have been done in by one of his colleagues who turned approver. Once he started singing, the company’s new management was able to solve the jigsaw puzzle and collect enough evidence against the former owner, something which was eluding them for a long time. Now that the money trail has been established, insiders say the new owners have a watertight case against the former owners.

Holy smoke!

Some bomb-like objects recovered during the desilting of a pond near the highly secured Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram were initially thought to be ammunition for cannons used for ritual firing during festivals decades ago. But the Travancore royal family, custodians of the temple, felt a thorough search was called for around the temple, known for its massive wealth. The pipe-like objects were found in an unused pond adjacent to the north gate of the grand temple where the ASI’s office is situated. Temple officials and staff say that neither the sack in which the pipes were packed nor the pipes themselves could be considered old, as was originally thought.

The police say the devices do not resemble country-made explosives or IEDs. But a senior temple official said that one of the pipes, which emitted smoke after being taken out of the sack, contained glass shrapnel, nails, and steel balls, all of which are regular components of IEDs.

Watch out for fakes

On a mission to attract investments to the new State of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has struck a cautious approach in extending concessions. The reason is simple, he says. “I am aware a number of fakes (industrialist/investors) make rounds to secure concessions without taking up projects.

There are a number of such instances in the past. Therefore, the selection process of right industrialists starts and stops at the Chief Minister’s Office. I will have brief interactions to assess their sincerity. Only after my assent will they be extended necessary land and concessions as per the industrial policy. This will also ensure that we do not get carried away by a non-serious industrialist,” he said.

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