Ranjan Bhattacharya: Oh okay, so let me understand what you are saying... the family guys are okay to get MoS, more or less.
Niira Radia: Both the…
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Provided, provided this Maran boy does not get cabinet... right?
Niira Radia: Correct, correct.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: And they are best, there are people outside the family and outside the Congress who are pushing for Maran, right?
Niira Radia: And Sunil Mittal’s name is one of them.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Listen I, I mean talking to Sunil is no point because obviously he has got this thing. Between you and me, I have a great line to Ghulam Nabi, for whatever he counts.
Niira Radia: I have been sending him a message since morning, I told Mukesh also to speak to him and tell him to speak to Kani, because Kani will take him directly to her father. They really spoiled it for themselves because they could have got away with two cabinet berths.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Ab unke tiin dene paRenge
Niira Radia: Ab tiin dene paRenge. Yeh Baalu ko bhi drop karvaa sakte thhe kyuunki unhe keh sakte thhe Thiik hai, now they have to go through the whole process of three. They will have to be… again this whole argument that will happen, ke tiin mein kaun include ho. Raja include hogaa, Azhagiri include hogaa, Maran ko include karenge, toh baki tumhaare Tamil leaders jo is baari elections jiit ke aayenge voh kahenge hamara kya hogaa?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: I mean exactly aur yeh toh biich mein bhag gayaa thha
Niira Radia: Maran was the big challenge, and not because I do not like the guy, but genuinely that was a big problem. Maran kept on saying that both Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel have said to him that he, they want him to be in the Cabinet and that he is the only who is an acceptable face.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: I do not think. How can a Congress guy, I mean if somebody had told me PM has said it or Sonia said it... How can a Ghulam Nabi Azad or Ahmed Patel insist on [it]? It is like saying aapke ghar mein main tai karun
Niira Radia: Unhone insist nahiiN kiyaa hai, unhone kahaa hai humko Congress ko kya acceptable hai woh hai Dayanidhi Maran, so Karunanidhi got awfully confused. The second thing that came up with Congress… said well but Karunanidhi took Maran with him to the UPA meeting, that is because Kani had disappeared somewhere else, visited somewhere else, and he does not consider woh toh Chennai mein kissi ko bhi apne saath le jaata hai
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Exactly, aisaa kyaa hai, usse koi angrezi, ungrezi samajhne waala bhi chahiye
Niira Radia: Toh usko isliye le ke gayaa thha kyuunki Baalu nahin thha. Kani was not available. Well, he had not, and no one person has been appointed to negotiate, Maran is not the point person to negotiate.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Achcha aisa hai, yeh toh abhi jaa raha hai apni swearing-in pe, meri abhi kisi se baat hui toh Ghulam, GNA, is being sworn in, naa [It is like this, he is going for his swearing-in, I just spoke to someone, Ghulam, GNA is being sworn in, no].
Niira Radia: What is he getting?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Bhai, they are not admitting it, mil toh raha hai aur usko liya bhi iss liye jaa raha hai, he is getting Parliamentary Affairs basically. Being a senior guy, he will be basically Parliamentary Affairs Minister… only has job for three months, nau mahiine kya karegaa. So he is lobbying for something, but abhii tak inhone tai toh nahin kiya
Niira Radia: Tell them to give him aviation, Praful ko baahar rakho
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Nahin, Praful ne toh raat ko itna drama kiyaa; apparently, they toh at midnight jaa ke Praful ko aviation bolaa hai, par Praful ki aaj swearing-in nahin hai
Niira Radia: Yeah, I know that.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Inki sabki Tuesday ki hai.
Niira Radia: MoS hai.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: MoS hai, independent.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Aur mujhko Ramesh Sharma called up bahut achcha hai hamare Anand Sharma ho rahein hain, my information is Anand Sharma nahin hain
Niira Radia: Anand Sharma hai isme
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Nahin hai, yeh sab media ne…
Niira Radia: Mujhe Mukesh ne bola
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Chalo dekhte hain, mere ko nahiiN lagtaa hai
Niira Radia: Elevated to Cabinet.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Nahin, Cabinet, par abhii aaj uskaa abhii media chalaa rahaa hai at least tiin ghante pehle tak naa usko chithhi aai thhi, naa Mukul Wasnik ko chithhi aai thhi
Niira Radia: Achcha
Ranjan Bhattacharya: But I don’t know.
Niira Radia: …
Ranjan Bhattacharya: So is Mukesh happy with...?
Niira Radia: Very happy.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: (Laughs) You know what he told me.
Niira Radia: What?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: He tells me, he says, you know, he is in his usual style, kya kyo, I told him ‘Mera chhodo, kya kyo, aapko kya hai
Niira Radia: Hmm
Ranjan Bhattacharya: He says, Sir, theek hai. I said, Mukesh, once in a while show some bloody emotion. Aapka to sab kaam ho gaya (all your work’s been done).
Niira Radia: Hmm.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Motu nahin aaya, yeh nahin hua (fatty didn’t make it). He replied, ‘Haan yaar, you know Ranjan, you’re right, ab to Congress apni dukaan hai (now the Congress is our shop).’
Niira Radia: (Laughs) Why has Bhardwaj not come in?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Who?
Niira Radia: Bhardwaj?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Who is not coming, sorry?
Niira Radia: Bhardwaj, Bhardwaj
Ranjan Bhattacharya: I cannot understand, sorry.
Niira Radia: Bhardwaj, law minister.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Bharadwaj! Oh yeah, he has done such a lot of kabaaRaa, and especially in those two cases now where CBI then botched it up in both the DA ke assets. These are all under law ministries' instructions, so they are pretty pissed off with him. I think they are also now getting in the core guys and then the youngsters, but now I wonder who will get law; will Kapil get it, I dunno?
Niira Radia: I wonder, I wonder, maybe Kapil only.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Um, hmm?
Niira Radia: Maybe.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: But lawyer toh wohi hai par
Niira Radia: Oh yes. No, Ranjan, when you speak to Ghulam, you should tell him that they really messed it up, haan?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: No, so now basically you want me to convey ki aap Kanimozhi ke through jaa ke buddhe ko seedha milo, yai hai na.
Niira Radia: Agar tum log jo list tumhe bheji thhi uspe agar Baalu or Maran ko mana kar dete toh tumhaaraa problem solve ho jaataa
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Bhai, ab toh woh nahin hua toh ab kya karna hai
Niira Radia: Abhi unko Kanimozhi ke paas they have to call her and go directly and meet Karunanidhi. They have to relay two things, they do not want to give infrastructure to Baalu or Maran.
Niira Radia: They have no issue where Raja is concerned, kyuunki unhe pataa hi hai even if they have an issue, the old man is going to bring Raja; he is very clear about that. So don’t antagonise him, because he has got Dalit as now they will have to give Azhagiri one, Raja one and one maybe they will give to another leader from Tamil Nadu, or they will, just so that they keep this whole controversy out, they will give it to Baalu only, and then drop Maran altogether and give Kani an independent charge.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: So Azhagiri independent charge or Cabinet, they are okay with it.
Niira Radia: Azhagiri in Cabinet because tiin ho gayaa toh Azhagiri ko denaa hi paRegaa
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Okay, but this will happen only late, it will only happen late night.
Niira Radia: Yeah, but if they keep Maran out, maybe they will be able to still get away with two.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Oh, okay.
Niira Radia: Which will then make this guy come out quite well ... Karunanidhi, saying, ‘Forget about what the channels are saying about me, or Jayalalitha is saying, both my children are taking MoS independent and I am bringing Baalu and Raja to be the cabinet ministers, they are not my family.’
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Okay, now listen, I mean GNA channel is there, if I send word straight to SG, is that better?
Niira Radia: SG is... kaun?
Ranjan Bhattacharya: (Laughs) SG is SG boss.
Niira Radia: Oh, beg your pardon, sorry I didn’t get, haan yeah, yeah, bhijwaa doh
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Because that then I can achieve in the morning. I am meeting somebody.
Niira Radia: Par tum isko GNA ko bhi bol doh [you tell this to GNA as well], he is handling Tamil Nadu.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: I know, Thiik hai
Niira Radia: Tell him they are being misled by this guy Maran.
Ranjan Bhattacharya: Okay.
