Cautious Centre says can’t besmirch reputations by ordering probe

EVEN AS the Supreme Court Thursday allowed former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho’s Pul’s widow to withdraw her plea for registration of an FIR and investigation into a note purportedly written by her husband before he committed suicide on August 9 last year, the Centre has decided to adopt a “cautious wait-andwatch” attitude in the matter.

Sources in the government, privy to high-level discussions on the issue, told The Indian Express that the Centre — Pul’s widow has sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in the issue — is of the opinion that this is a “very sensitive issue” and that “nothing would be gained by jumping the gun”. “We have decided to be cautious since the issue is very sensitive. We will wait and watch before taking any decision, if any, in the matter. We don’t think it would do any good to anybody, especially institutions like the judiciary, if we jumped the gun,” a top functionary said.

Asked if the Centre had ordered any probe to verify the authenticity of the purported note, the functionary replied in the negative. “Where is the need to do so at this juncture? There are many questions that need to be answered before any cognizance can be taken of the note. First of all, is this a suicide note? Is it THE SKILL to sense “electoral merit,” was until now considered to be Congress’s speciality. The recent elections in Maharashtra show that BJP has mastered the art to outsmart not only India’s GOP — but all of the Opposition.

The BJP, for the recent elections, had a two-pronged strategy. Fight wherever it is strong. And, wherever it isn’t, import whoever is strong.

It has worked to remarkable effect — the party has bagged eight of the 10 municipal corporations where elections were held.

Take the case of Pune, for example.

There, more than half of BJP’S elected corporators are either from the NCP, Congress or Shiv Sena. In Pune, it was the NCP and Congress that ruled for over a decade. Once a fiefdom of Congress’s Suresh Kalmadi, it later became a strong bastion of the NCP, especially of Ajit Pawar. For over a year, the BJP selectively wooed many lieutenants of Pawar Jr including one of the most maligned, an all-party-experienced

Pul’s wife Dangwimsai