Poll buzz: Busy and active as TKA Nair

Ever since he stepped down as principal secretary in the PMO, TKA Nair, the quintessential Malayalee, has been trying to keep himself busy.

When he is not visiting Delhi’s ‘South Indian’ temples such as the Sree Guruvayoorappan Temple in Mayur Vihar to seek god’s blessings and offer benisons to his numerous buddies and admirers, Nair makes it a point to fly down to his home state of Kerala to take part in a plethora of events — which even includes meeting police cadets and enthusing them to work towards the concept of “community policing”.

A retired 1963 batch IAS officer, he holds the office of adviser to the PM, with the rank and status of a minister of state. But then this is no sort of power comparable with what he enjoyed till recently. To an extent, he seems to be getting carried away by a certain inertia which makes him run from one function to another in a constant attempt to stay “occupied”. Perhaps it is time for him to slow down and relax a bit.

After all, he doesn’t have to manage (or mismanage) any more scams or controversies and “secure” fair deals for his home state. Earning a few epithets (such as Mallu Mafia in the PMO) was enough.

THE DREADING SILENCE

Till all hell broke loose (for him personally), a lawyer-politician, like many of those loyal ones in the Cabinet, used to be hyperactive in Cabinet meetings. Such occasions meant he would dissect and discuss threadbare each and every issue that comes up before the Cabinet.

The man of all seasons, lately, is a little pensive and recessive at such meetings. Not that his brain no longer works like a machine gun, not that he no longer can be argumentative to the core, not that he isn’t genetically predisposed to intellectual flourish and tutoring. But this silence has got to do with being sad. He is a little depressed, for obvious reasons. This too shall pass, sir. Or won’t it?

EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCE

Irrespective of whether they are in or out of power, politicians are feeling the heat of apathy against them. There are a few exceptions though.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is one among them. But it is presumptuous to assume that the JD(U) CM’s huge appeal among the masses naturally endears him to his allies. Recently, two BJP MPs secretly met a Union minister to seek a probe into the implementation of federal schemes in Bihar. The Union minister they met is friends with Kumar.

Which means, much to the anguish of these lawmakers, Kumar came to know about the complaint against him. Kumar isn’t known to be vindictive, but then mere scepticism alone can make and break careers in the strange world of politics. Falling at the feet may help, but not beyond a point!