Communist party to induct Saeed al-Sahaf as spokesperson
Yechury beginning to make sense, insiders say.

The communist party of India announced in the capital today that it would be inducting Saeed al-Sahaf, the former Iraqi information minister, into the party. He would be given the position of party spokesperson. Addressing media men gathered at the CPI office in Delhi, Mr. Basu said “ In a politburo meeting conducted this afternoon, it was decided that Mr. al-Sahaf would be the ideal choice for the party spokesperson. We have taken this decision after carefully considering a number of candidates including Pooja bedi and Navjot Sidhu.”

In the usual frenzy that follows any CPI briefing, Mr. Basu was bombarded with questions about the removal of the present spokesperson Mr. Yechury. “ Mr. Yechury will continue to play an active role in the party, but just not as spokesperson. He will be handling the Sourav Ganguly issue” he added.

However, insiders say that party leaders were upset with Mr. Yechury because he was beginning to make sense to the public at large. On the condition of anonymity, a senior leader quoted “his performance in recent debates was below par. He has consistently failed to frustrate anchors and other speakers. His ranting has also decreased over the past few months. But the last straw was when some analysts actually agreed with him on a TV show the other night.”

Speaking about Mr. Saeed al-Sahaf later, Ms. Karat said that the politburo was impressed by his handling of the US invasion. “Even when the US had completely decimated the republican guard, he insisted they were in control. He was completely unaffected by the facts and kept to his party line. That’s the kind of spokesperson we need.” she said before sitting in for a dharna to protest the decision.

Elsewhere, NASA denied rumors that astronauts were begging to be sent into outer space before the release of Paris Hiltons music album.