Rajiv Shukla is arguably the best-connected journalist in the capital, with access to 10, Janpath as well as the BJP leadership. Political editor for the Observer group of newspapers, Shukla also hosts the popular television talk show Ru-Ba-Ru. Earlier this year, he startled politicians when he won the highest number of votes in the Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh.

• The J&J factor
'Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh and Minister of Urban Development Jagmohan must be praised for their performance so far.'

• Give Advani his due
'Contrary to what his critics claim, Advani's decisions cannot be branded as communal. In fact, it was during his tenure that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal were isolated.'

• Nemesis for Azhar and Prabhakar
'The CBI has found Mohammad Azharuddin and Prabhakar as match-fixers and blamed Azhar for influencing Nayan Mongia and Ajay Jadeja.'

• Another Jayalalitha in the making
'Today it is Mamata, tomorrow it will be Karunanidhi and Naidu the day after. How long will the prime minister yield to his allies? He needs to put his foot down,' says Rajiv Shukla.

• Facelift for the BJP?
'Bangaru Lakshman is not asking for the moon. He wants the BJP to adopt the same ideology which it has been practising as a ruling party. If one analyses the last two-and-a-half years of BJP rule, it has worked like a secular and liberal government.'

• The menace of Veerappan and Dawood has reached a level where no state government can control it
'Since in our Constitution, law and order is a state subject, the Union government has left the responsibility of nabbing Veerappan and the Dawood Ibrahim gang on the Karnataka and Maharashtra governments respectively. If the Centre takes up this issue in its hands, half the problem will be resolved.'

• Present laws are ineffective in dealing with terrorism
'If somebody is a proven terrorist like Azhar Masood, there should be a provision to kill him in jail.'

• War of words
'The VHP and Bajrang Dal are aiding Pakistan in its nefarious designs by making irresponsible statements. The world has so far ignored Pakistani propaganda that minorities are being targeted in India. Unfortunately, violence against the Christian community has tarnished our image abroad.'

• The good general
General Pervez Musharraf is one smart operator who knows what he is doing.

• The good general
General Pervez Musharraf is one smart operator who knows what he is doing.

• SC verdict a golden chance to improve govt machinery
The verdict on Ramesh Chandra Acharya's case must be lauded as it has provided a wide-ranging scope to bring efficiency into the government machinery

• A great game should not suffer
Due to past incidents and certain unsavoury happenings, cricket lovers are gradually losing interest in the game, which is a very dangerous indication.

• Let the Karmapa not spoil Sino-Indian ties
'For India, friendship with China is more important than fighting the dead issue of Tibet. We should get over the old hangovers of our diplomacy and review our foreign policy in a new perspective, keeping the geographical and economic situation in mind.'

• Passage for foreign investment proposals made easy
• How true are the allegations against Fernandes?
• Let there be peace!
• Gujral's largesse, states' nemesis
• Swadeshi is no panacea!
• A leader called Sonia
• Enough is enough!
• We need a separate ministry for disinvestment
• The N Men
• PMs sans Power
• The politics behind Vajpayee's economics
• Atal ISN'T ill!
• Will there be a war?
• 4 Cabinet ministers demanded action against Karunanidhi, got ATR changed
• Boy Bureaucrat has no say in Man Minister's affairs!
• How To Tide Over Sanctions
• Friends, finally!
• Did Washington leak Vajpayee's letter to the press?
• Vajpayeeji, please do not become a Saddam Hussain!
• What right do Shiv Sainiks have to prevent Ghulam Ali from singing in Bombay?
• Swadeshi? Nope, Vajpayee likes videshi
• Unfair!
• The Old Order Changeth
• Stupid, stupid electorate!
• Mayawati's MLAs and Kanshi Ram's government
• A Presidential dilemma
• The Backroom Boys
• Criminals and candidates
• Why is Gujral so confident?
• If not Sonia, who?
• The Forgotten Issue
• A Hung House
• How can Rabri Devi be an administrator and clever politician overnight?
• Gujral thought Kesri alone could save him from Deve Gowda's fate. That was his undoing
• South Africa has taken to the Gujral doctrine like fish to water
• Decision Time
• Who is the loyal-est of them all?
• I will sleep with you, but I will not marry you!
• There is no way that Gujral can keep playing the diplomat once the Jain Commission report is out
• There are too many tainted people in too many tainted parties who would move heaven, earth and Parliament to shoot down Gill's directive
• Nothing sweet about this
• Low salaries force MPs to become corrupt
• The UF wouldn't have been the UF if it had a spine!
• It is we who are responsible for the creation of politicians like Rabri Devi
• What to do? The Communists are like that only
• All it took was a garland of chappals
• It is positively indecent to shower cricketers with multi-million contracts right from day one
• Not only the Congress but the whole of India has great expectations from Kesri
• The pragmatic diplomat has turned into a highly image conscious politician
• The debate in Pakistan is not whether Zardari is corrupt or not, but whether he made $4 billion or $6 billion
• Why does Mulayam Singh like the upper castes so much?
• The CBI needs to put in more efforts before filing chargesheets
• In Advani's absence, there is no one to take care of the BJP's interests
• As things stand, Kesri will not have to sweat it out
• Kesri jo kehta hai karta nahin, aur jo karta hai kehta nahin
• The Congress will never return to power if they
support the UF from outside again
• If Karunanidhi continues his vengeful attitude,
Jayalalitha could well stage a comeback
• VDS might revolutionise our entire revenue system
• Restructuring the bureaucracy
• The Presidential race hots up
• The BJP is on the comeback trail
• How to pay your power charges through your grocery bills
• Most of the Pay Commission's recommendations
will be accepted
• India is no longer the flavour of the month at the World Bank
• Mr Unreliable
• Too little, too late: Deve Gowda's belated attempt
to woo Sitaram Kesri
• Bhairon Singh Shekhawat should be the next BJP president
• Bangalore is tops where crime is concerned