Mulayam’s worry
At the all party meeting on Anti-Rape Bill, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav took every one by surprise by claiming the proposed legislation prescribed punishment for ‘transfers and postings’ of officers of fair sex. Even as leaders attending the meet started looking through the copy of the paper to locate the provision, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj pointed out that ‘transfer’ in this case meant transfer of women for the purpose of trafficking. Mulayam heaved a sigh of relief, and so did others.
Caught napping
Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi was left red-faced at a recent meeting when his officials failed to reply to queries by Finance Minister P Chidamabram on the budgetary allocation to different heads of the Tourism Ministry. The senior officials also struggled to respond to questions on the progress of the projects for which the Finance Ministry has already allocated funds. Upset at the unpreparedness of the Tourism Ministry officials, Chidambaram is learnt to have abruptly cut short the meeting.
Tiger tension
Panic set in last week when a tiger from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar strayed into the neighbouring district of Padrauna in Uttar Pradesh. First it was found resting in one of the PWD guest houses, then it was spotted “catwalking” on the city roads. A team of 100 odd forest personnel from UP and Bihar pursued the tiger, which kept eluding them. The forest personnel heaved a sigh of relief when they came to know the tiger had finally gone back to its habitat on its own. Cool cat indeed!
lopsided
The long-awaited cadre review of the Centre Public Works Department (CPWD) has led to the detection of a slew of irregularity. For instance, while senior level posts as Director Generals and Chief Engineers have more than doubled, there is acute shortage of lower level staff. The 160-year-old construction agency, CPWD, is already facing flak from its boss Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, for its shoddy work and failure to complete projects on time.
Swamy’s claim to fame
Upset over the Italian Government’s decision to override the Supreme Court order on return of the marines, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy filed a contempt petition last week that makes for an interesting reading. An entire page is dedicated to describe Swamy’s credential and qualifications. The move was deliberate as just a week ago when Swamy mentioned the case before the CJI, he retorted: “Who are you. We don’t need to hear you.” Through his petition, Swamy ensured the court’s question was sufficiently answered.
Tamil and English
Finance Minister P Chidambaram recently showed a new love for Tamil. After the DMK’s decision to pull out of the UPA, Chidambaram, who would earlier refuse to answer questions asked by jurnos in Tamil, not only obliged them at a Government Press conference, but even gave bytes exclusively in Tamil to TV channels. However, all this PR exercise made no difference to DMK chief M Karunanidhi, who, on his part, for the first time spoke in English to reach a wider national audience on the Sri lankan issue.
Strategic move
The UPA Government’s decision to send Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson PJ Kurien to attend the beatification of the new Pope in Rome, came as a blessing in disguise for him as well as for the party. Congress managers packed off Kurien, embroiled in sexual abuse allegations, when Rajya Sabha was debating anti-rape bill. Though Kurien returned to Delhi on Wednesday night, he decided to avoid attending the last two days of the Session. .
Shinde loses cool
Grapevine has it Home Minister SK Shinde lost his cool, when J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the claims of Delhi Police over the arrest of a surrendered militant. Sources said soon after his telephonic conversation with the Chief Minister, a livid Shinde ordered his aides to connect to the Delhi Police Commissioner. Only a few hours ago, Shinde had congratulated the top cop for the arrest of the alleged terrorist.