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New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) He quit in the face of controversy, but what about others? Shashi Tharoor is apparently upset with the Congress leadership for treating Telecommunications Minister A. Raja and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel with kid gloves and not applying the same political yardstick to them on the issue of probity in public life.Sources said Tharoor, who had to resign as a minister in the wake of IPL Kochi row, has privately aired his distaste over what some of his friends see as double standards. While Raja faces allegations of financial wrongdoing in the allotment of 2G spectrum, Patel too has been in a spot over reports that he provided critical information relating to valuation of the IPL Kochi franchisee.Party bosses have been taking pains to explain to Tharoor that both Raja and Patel are not from the Congress and the party has little say in deciding their fate!-*-Tharoor, diplomats' delightThe IPL controversy may have cost Shashi Tharoor his job, but his appeal has not dimmed among foreign diplomats. Missing him are not just those from Africa but also the ones from Latin America.In a message posted on Twitter last week, Tharoor writes: 'Delightful lunch with 2 Latin American Ambassadors saying they were sorry to have lost me. LatinAm Group inviting the Tvm (Thiruvananthapuram) MP to address them.'His popularity has a lot to do with the personal touch he brought to his job as junior foreign minister. He is said to be on Twitter with many ministers and ambassadors from African, Latin American and West Asian countries - the three critically important areas he was handling as minister of state for external affairs.Had he been minister now, he would be visiting Mexico, Brazil and Panama this month!-*-Why spy; We all spyMadhuri Gupta, the first Indian woman diplomat caught spying for Pakistan, continues to spook the diplomatic and political establishment in India. The story has slipped off the front pages, but now seasoned insiders are asking tough questions.If Gupta did not pass any sensitive information, then why was she hounded in full public glare, asked a puzzled diplomat. Is there a cover-up on here, asked another.Worse, the hard realisation is dawning that the way the story was leaked has perhaps done more damage to India's interests than what Gupta did. The worst-kept secret of posting spies in diplomatic missions is now out.Pakistanis are gloating that now everyone knows some of the undercover operatives in the Indian mission in Islamabad.-*-Tale of two RajasWhat's in a name? When AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha vociferously demanded action against 'Raja', D. Raja of of the CPI appeared a little flustered.A peeved D. Raja asked them to clarify, 'Which Raja they are talking about? They were shouting 'dismiss Raja', so I told them not to say dismiss Raja, say dismiss Telecom Raja,' D. Raja said.The man at the centre of the controversy is actually telecom minister A. Raja.-*-Snail mail versus hackersBabus in the defence ministry are scratching their heads to ward off hacking, and many are now becoming nostalgic about the good old days of snail mail.After being told not to use the internet for official transfer of data and for uploading classified files on computers connected to the net, they are reminiscing those coloured cardboard folders of yore, containing confidential files, letters and data.When you have good neighbours like China and Pakistan whose hackers steal nearly six million files worldwide every day, going back to postal days is not a bad idea, quipped an officer.-*-Najma's never-say-die farewell songIt was a farewell song, with a difference. A five-time member of the Rajya Sabha, 70-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader Najma Heptulla, whose term comes to an end in July, has left no one in doubt that she is in no mood to say quits.Apparently, S.S. Ahluwalia, a BJP leader known for his lung power, was teasing her with a famous ghazal by singer Farida Khanum. 'Aaj jane ki zid na karo...yun hi pehlu me baithe raho (Don't leave today...Keep sitting by my side),' goes the song.Turning to Ahluwalia, who usually sits next to her, she then looked at him and told him half-jokingly: 'You have to make the effort to see that I keep sitting by your side!'There was laughter, but Heptualla might just have got her message across.-*-Praise or flattery?When showered with praise, a politician is likely to suspect a favour-seeker. For instance, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy was taken aback at a function when a person raising a question praised him as the most 'ethical' minister in the cabinet.Looking at the bemused expression on Reddy's face, the person asserted, 'I am not flattering you'. The minister shot back, 'I know, you are not one of those contractors!'-*-Family mattersKnown for his enthusiastic talk of America and India working 'shoulder-to-shoulder, hand-to-hand', US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer often brings in his family at interactions with the media at Roosevelt House.Last week, his mother and two sons looked on even as the ambassador - a former House of Representatives member - spoke about weighty issues ranging from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
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