The mysterious people who run Parliament, y'know the ones who redact things with acres of black print without MPs realising, and are often accused of being inflexible and archaic, revealed a slightly more relaxed approach to business today.
In their email to explain what's happening in select committees this week, one of their number solemly declares that: "It's mostly about coke for Home Affairs this am."
Yep, that's their description of the light-hearted topic of the cocaine trade which Keith Vaz and his Krew on the Home Affairs Committee will discuss with outgoing SOCA Chair Sir Stephen Lander on Tuesday morning. 10.30, Committee Room 8 if you're interested.
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In Britain my former EastEnders acting colleague Michael Cashman, MEP, has successfully moved into full- time politics.
If he had been an Indian star-turned politician, his popularity would be multiplied a hundredfold.
The Indian film industry produces the largest number of films in the world. There are over a dozen movie actors and entertainers, more than ever before, in the 2009 election cycle.
Where substantive issues are missing in lacklustre campaigns, stars can generate crowds. But voters aren’t fooled.
"I go [to rallies] because I want to see them up close," said one taxi driver. "But I don't trust them. They're actors."
In one town in the state of Bihar, actor and television talk-show host, Shekhar ‘Shaker’ Suman, is running for Congress, while his BJP opponent, Shatrughan ‘Shotgun’ Sinha, is a movie star and judge on the country’s most popular talent show. Sinha explains his move into politics simply.
"Glamour has limited power, whereas power has unlimited glamour."
Chiranjeevi, a South Indian superstar, started his own political party, supported by fellow actors. At million-strong rallies, he plays clips, often featuring him shirtless,
from his most popular film dance sequences.
The would-be chief minister of key swing-state Tamil Nadu is 53-year-old Jayalalitha, film siren turned grisly politician. At least three of this state’s chief ministers have been celluloid actors. Two have been script writers.
BJP leader L.K.Advani is competing with a professional dancer, Mallika Sarabhai, for his seat. She gets louder cheers for her dance displays than she does for her stump speeches.
Film actor Sinha acknowledges, "The crowd doesn't always translate into votes." While India awaits the results of the 2009 election, Mr Suman figures, if he fails, he can always go back to Bollywood.
"Once an actor," he says, "always an actor."
Rani Singh:
If you think that what is currently going on in British politics is sleazy it would appear that Indian MPs and parliamentary candidates are allegedly not always hindered by such high principles.
I’m not casting aspersions upon those who run the largest democracy in the world… it's just that one in five members of India's last parliament had criminal cases filed against them while in office.
The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), analysing the affidavits of 7,405 candidates contesting in 2009, have found that 1,114 face criminal charges.
These counts are not for piddly parking fines, they’re serious; murder, kidnapping and extortion.
Where more than three candidates in the fray have criminal records, the states are described as ‘Red Alert’ constituencies. There are 188 ‘Red Alert’ constituencies in India in the 2009 election cycle.
The Times of India reports that The BSP (led by ‘untouchable’ heroine Mayawati), part of the so-called ‘Third Front’ likely to play a prominent part in any new coalition, equals the dominant Congress party in its numbers of ‘heinous’ crime charges such as ‘murder, attempt to murder, extortion etc.’
In the candidate criminal record chart, 499 have charges related to ‘heinous’ crimes - Congress and the BSP have 43 candidates each, closely followed by the BJP with 41.
In the state of Bihar, Eastern India, 25 per cent of the candidates have had 'close encounters' with the law. The parliamentary front-runner here is facing criminal charges including three counts of murder.
He is awaiting trial for the alleged killing of the head of a rival family.
At public meetings, he describes himself as a ‘baahubali,’ literally translating from hindi as ‘strongman’ but more commonly used to mean ‘gangster.’
They’re so laid back, these Indian politicians.
Rani Singh: The incidence of slipper and shoe-throwing during the Indian elections is now frequent enough for it to be referred to as an election phenomenon. The press appears to be enjoying the search for appropriate epithets.
The Times of India referred to ‘footwear missiles’ in a recent incident.
In New Delhi, the central Home Minister had a shoe thrown at him by a journalist during a press conference.
At an election rally in Ahmedabad, an engineering student, incensed by what he called ‘lying’ politicians, hurled a shoe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which landed just by the stage, falling short of its presumed intended target. Manmohan Singh, true to his gentle and conciliatory nature, asked the police not to press charges.
In Madhya Pradesh state, a disgruntled party worker threw a shoe at the main opposition leader L.K.Advani. It too missed its target, but mischievous television cameramen chose to linger on shots of the lonely shoe lying next to the podium, instead of concentrating on the politician and his important speech.
No wonder one daily wrote that the shoe had grown in stature and had become ‘a weapon of mass distraction.’
The shoe-missile phenomenon is now being called India’s ‘shoe-gate.’
In order to protect himself from similar airborne objects, opposition star Narendra Modi (who is considered by many to be responsible for communal violence in 2002) had a specially erected nylon net in front of him for one rally and in a preventative move, cancelled all press conferences, fearing the flying footwear of critical journalists.
In Northern India, a retired school teacher hurled a shoe-missile at a Congress candidate’s election meeting. The former was reportedly drunk at the time and remained unapologetic.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson is a popular guy. Or at least that's how he's written up in the press. Charming, personable, relaxed, authentic - Alan Johnson appears to be the very antidote to the more unattractive MPs currently serving. What's he like away from the cameras?
When he was simply buying his lunch after PMQs today, Johnson beamed as he was paying causing the lady behind the till in the cafeteria to jump off her stool and give him an enormous hug.
Following up a minute later was Cabinet Office Minister and Brown enforcer Liam Byrne who didn't get a hug.
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