Thursday, July 3.

Who is this Tapas Pal? Must find out more.

Found Rahul Baba napping on my sofa. Poor boy. The World Cup Schedule is not suiting him. Had asked the Foreign Secretary to influence Brazil and change the match timings, but he refused.

Gursharan was concerned. “He should not be here”, she said, “It looks bad if he’s not in Parliament. You should do something about it.”

Must have a word with him when he wakes up.
Meanwhile, I gently covered him with a blanket, and wiped his chin.

Friday , July 4.

Tapas Pal was Madhuri Dixit’s first hero! And he wears a wig! Don’t know which of these shocks me more.

Gursharan wants me to get a new job. So many Governors are being dismissed. This looks like an opportunity. The food is so-so, but the accommodation is excellent. Must talk to Pranab.

Saturday, July 5.

That dastardly Swamy is persecuting Madam. Horrified. Ever since he was kicked out of Harvard, he’s become completely unmanageable.

The Home Ministry has destroyed thousands of files pertaining to Mahatma Gandhi. Just as well. Some of the cases against him could still be pending.

Monday, July 7.

Railway budget coming up tomorrow. Am hosting party for ex-Railway Ministers. Narrowly avoided disaster. Nearly forgot to invite Mamata. Remembered at the last minute. Requested her to bring Tapas Pal.

Since almost all of them are from Bihar, have asked Gursharan to make sattu ka paratha.

Called up Pranab about a Governor job. He tried to speak to me in Hindi. Am still recovering. Will write letter.

Tuesday, July 8.

What an absurd Railway Budget! Only one new train for Bengal! This Gowda must be out of his mind. Mamata went into our kitchen looking for a chopper, but luckily Gursharan had hidden them.

Had a good look at Tapas Pal, to verify his wig. He refused to speak. He conveyed to me that Mamata has told him never to open his mouth again, except when eating. His wig is truly terrible. When I yanked, it came off very easily. I thought he was a film star. The Bengali film industry must be in very poor condition. Even S.M. Krishna had better wigs than this. In fact, he had a large collection. One time, during a summit meeting with Hina Rabbani Khar, he changed wigs three times during the course of one day. Even then he couldn’t make any progress. Through his under-secretary he sent a message of love, but she said she would rather strangle herself with her own dupatta.

That Hina Rabbani Khar was very dangerous. During her tenure, the Foreign Service kept agreeing to give away Kashmir, but luckily I managed to stop them before they could put anything in writing.

Otherwise our ex-Railway Minister’s party was very good, except that Laloo brought all his children, and we almost ran out of food. Thank God for Domino’s.

Wednesday, July 9.

Reliance may have been involved in ticket blacking in Brazil. Am so proud of them. They have become a truly global organization.

Robert dropped in to show me some simple exercises. He says they will help me stay fit. It was Priyanka’s idea. She’s always so kind to me. I dropped a dumbbell on his foot, but he did not complain. What a strong boy! He has muscles everywhere. I was very touched by this gesture. He’s so busy shutting down all his companies, but still he finds time for me.

Rahul Baba fell asleep in Parliament during Amarinder’s speech. This is unforgivable. It must not be repeated. Strong steps are required. Amarinder must be prohibited from speaking in future.

Thursday, July 10.

Saw Jaitley presenting budget today. He was dressed just like Modi. Smart thinking. I had wanted to do the same thing, but Gursharan refused to teach me how to wear a sari.

The IT Department will be shutting down NGOs if they invest in “prohibited modes”. By “prohibited modes” they mean anything the IT Department feels should be prohibited.

This means they’ll have to invest in Switzerland, like everyone else.

Friday, July 11.

Chidu said the budget was “exactly like UPA”. Manish said the budget “shows no vision”. This was bound to happen. I had told Chidu not to cut the Doordarshan budget, but as usual, he ignored me.

Saturday, July 12.

Am so pleased the government has budgeted 200 crore for a statue of Sardar Patel. The nation must honour its heroes.

I wonder where mine will be installed.

Sunday, July 13.

Advani has been removed from his position as Chairman of the BJP. Initially I was happy, but then I realized. This means he’s free to be President! What a disaster! Cannot sit idle. Just when I thought he was finished!

Must call Diggy. He’ll know what to do. He should be free. He had gone on a “fast unto death” to support farmers in MP, but he called it off. Told Gursharan about this. She was disapproving.

“It’s as if promises have no value these days”, she said.