For Nitish’s ears
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee knows the art of embarrassing his detractors, and even friends sometimes.
On Thursday, while he was in the well of the House, Banerjee shouted at JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav asking him not to believe the Congress. “We have seen them, you should not make that mistake,” Banerjee told Yadav. As members burst into laughter, someone shouted from the back, “Is Nitish Kumar listeningIJ”
Counter punch
With Parliamentary Standing Committee on coal recently castigating the UPA Government for lack of transparency and corruption in the illegal allocation of coal blocks between 1993 and 2008, a defensive Information and Broadcasting Minister was heard taunting Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brian that panel chairman and his party colleague Kalyan Banerjee appear to have forgotten that their leader Mamata Banerjee was also Coal Minister during the scam period. Brian was visibly taken aback by the needle also turning to Mamata.
Catch them young
Recently at at a training session for IAS probationers in Parliament, several MPs were invited as speakers. Industrialist and Congress MP Naveen Jindal turned up to the training class with a small gift to all probationers. The gift was a tricolor metal badge to pin on a suit. One MP quipped: “This was the best example of catch them young.”
Mysterious source
last week, when the name of Nalini, wife of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, cropped up in Saradha chit fund scam, a mysterious letter found its way into the journalistic circle. The unsigned letter explained the innocence of Nalini, whose name was mentioned in the explosive letter to the CBI by chit fund scamster Sudipta Sen. Though Nalini was in the Capital, she and her husband preferred to keep silence. For obvious reasons, the journalists who were privileged to get the anonymous letter pleading Nalini’s case, also kept silence about the valuable’ source.
Once bitten twice shy
The CBI’s change of stand in the coal scam case is earning a bad name for Government lawyers in the Supreme Court. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Harin Raval last week was asked by Justice RM lodha to take proper instruction before making a statement with regard to setting up of the Cauvery Monitoring Board, an issue hotly contested by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Justice lodha’s bench is hearing the coal scam case. and ASG Raval had appeared before the Court on March 12 to state that the CBI status report was not shared with the political executive.
lion’s divide
The Supreme Court’s nod for a second home for Gir lions in Madhya Pradesh, has divided the conservationists as well as tiger and lion camps. A wildlife expert reminded this tussle for supremacy between the two majestic species began way back in 1973, when Royal Bengal Tiger clinched the honour of National Animal and remained the prima donna species of conservation since then. But now when the lion is all set to make its comeback in the jungles of Kuno Palpur in the tiger state of MP, it remains to be seen which of the two will eventually becomes the king of the jungle.
Javed’s HRD tune!
The Capital witnessed a massive public protest after yet another child rape innocent last week. While parliament debated need for effective policing and stricter laws, focus also shifted on MM Pallam Raju when lyricist Rajya Sabha member Javed Akhtar said that the HRD Ministry must pull up its socks in changing the ‘sick’ mindset of the nation. So far, HRD Minsitry’s record has been pathetic in this direction.
Kal Aaj aur Kal
The bizarre shifting of General Manager (Technical) has raised eyebrows at the NHAI Headquarters. SS Gaharwar, on deputation as GM (Technical), was served an order for repatriation by GM (HR/Administration) Rakesh Nagar on February 19, 2013 and asked to proceed a day later. Strangely, Gaharwar’s repatriation was revoked within hours by the order of the Manager (Administration-I) Rajesh Dhaundiyal a day later. NHAI is abuzz with several unsavory theories behind this drama.
Made in Bengal
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banjerjee’s recent decision to hike taxes on cigarettes to raise money for chit fund scam victims, some journos were smoking last week in Parliament when a Trinamool Congress MP walked up to them and quipped “please smoke more but buy cigarettes from Bengal.”
Dumping rules
Throwing away the rule book, the Union Health Ministry has appointed RP Meena, an IPS officer as secretary to the Medical Council of India (MCI) even though he does not meet eligibility criteria for the post. An ex-director in the Ministry’s central vigilance office, he was appointed after his predecessor Sanjay Srivastava resigned from the post abruptly. Ironically, just a year ago, the Ministry had unceremoniously removed MCI’s ex-secretary Sangeeta Sharma on the ground that she did not fulfill eligibility criteria of 15 years of experience in medical education.
Growing young
Former Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain was the youngest Cabinet Minister (at the age of 32) in a Central Government. Now 44, Hussain was all aglow when Didi Sushma Swaraj told some MPs in the central hall that Hussain still looked to be in his twenties. Hussain must be thanking the professional at the Constitution Club parlor that he visits quite often.