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		Virendra Kapoor

	The times, they have been pretty bad for Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma. Things, in fact, are so bad that it is just a question of when -- and not whether -- the poor lamb will get the axe. His lacklustre leadership has alienated even the most ardent supporters. Kishan Lal Sharma, the BJP MP from Outer Delhi and Singh's most vociferous supporter till the other day, no more hides his disillusionment with the former librarian-turned-politician. The bloody issue -- knowing Singh, his sacking will be a bloody affair -- was discussed at great length by the party bigwigs at last week's conclave in Jaipur. A section pressed for his immediate disposal. Since Delhi is to elect a new assembly in November, it was argued that the sooner he is replaced the better. The Punjabi trio of Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Kedar Nath Sahani was all for a boot on Singh's back that very minute. Others, however, suggested that the BJP should go to polls keeping the leadership issue open. That way, the party would be able to garner the votes of the rural folks, for whom Singh was still a hero. A senior leader countered this. "We cannot concede 90 per cent of the seats merely because Singh has some influence in the remaining 10 per cent. He must go. He would otherwise take the BJP down with him in the coming poll," he said. If Singh still survives it is due to Lal Kishanchand Advani. The Union home minister, without whom Singh would have long ago fallen victim to Khurana's ploys, is reluctant to let down his protégé. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the other hand, is fully alive to the antipathy of most Delhiites to Singh. It is, thus, only a matter of time before Singh is led to the slaughterhouse. The enemy within Rarely, if ever, do raids on VIPs yield evidence. The haul of Rs 30 million in cash from former telecom minister Sukh Ram was a grave exception. So it surprised no one, not even the Central Bureau of Investigation hounds who went about the affair, when the raids on the residence of former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav came up with a complete blank. Now the CBI says Yadav knew about the impending raid. The Intelligence Bureau, sources say, has telephonic evidence to establish the fact that a senior Bihar cadre IPS officer, now on deputation with the CBI, tipped off Yadav. "The DIG-level officer leaked the top secret information to a close aide of Yadav, who sanitised his house and other premises likely to be raided," our sources said. Unfortunate, this leak -- we sure would have liked to see what Yadav keeps in his bathroom! Distributing largesse If Urban Welfare Minister Ram Jethmalani has his way, he would have stand the national treasury on its head -- with all its doors open, of course! Ram is now busy pressing for the payment of handsome compensation to those who invested in illegal flats built by the promoter/ builder of a high-rise residential complex. Three floors in the said building, grandiloquently named White House, were demolished on Supreme Court orders. A few days ago, Ram convened a meeting of senior officials with the sole purpose of ensuring that three flat owners were paid a compensation of Rs 6 million each by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation. The three being, controversial BJP MP from Amethi Sanjay Singh, his wife Ameeta Modi and the latter's brother! What Ram could not achieve as a lawyer he seems to be doing as minister. Nandu-man has rich tastes! The new secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, former revenue secretary N K Singh, is a man of style. And expensive tastes. Singh, thus, is spending a pretty penny on re-doing his room. New carpets, furniture and air-conditioner is, of course, de rigueur for our Nandu, as he is called by his mama and dear, rich friends. A substantial amount is also being spent on ensuring that Nandu's contact with his patrons\friends remains smooth and easy. So a sophisticated telephone system is also being installed. Meanwhile, as the workmen rip his room apart, Nandu has quietly appropriated the one vacated by Pramod Mahajan, former adviser to the prime minister. Incidentally, there is increasing talk in bureaucratic circles that with the go-getter Nandu in the PMO, Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra is bound to be marginalised. As it is, Mishra has shown little interest in anything other than the running of the foreign ministry. He may well find himself reduced to being the super foreign secretary while Nandu runs the rest. Capital Buzz
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