PCI vs I&B Ministry
It came as a jolt to many in the Information & Broadcasting Ministry when the Press Council of India decided to issue bailable warrant to I&B Secretary Sunil Arora. The Ministry officers believe that certain ‘krantikari’ members of the PCI had persuaded Chairman Justice (Rtd) CK Prasad to take this unprecedented step against Arora for ignoring his summons. Arora wrote to the PCI that he could not be present as he was out of station, but some PCI members termed his absence as disrespect to the organisation, leading to issuance of warrant. Now the matter is before I&B Minister Arun Jaitley, a legal expert who will have to resolve this obvious clash of ego.
Age to reform
last week, during the hearing of a matter related to the reform of the BCCI, when Punjab Cricket Association argued against Justice lodha panel recommendation to cap age of cricket body members to 70 years, senior advocate Ashok Desai said the age bar will impact veteran players like Bishan Singh Bedi from contributing to cricket. Bedi was present in the court during the hearing. His lawyer and Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari got up to contest Desai. “I appear for Bedi to support the age limit of 70 years. And my client is 69 years only.”
Call drops
Call drops have rattled some of the BJP spokespersons too. One of them recently admitted, albeit in a lighter vein, having experienced it twice while calling Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from outside the national Capital.
Heat alert
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) directorate here has issued an advisory to all its formations to sensitise all the personnel to take sufficient precautionary measures in the wake of intense heat wave gripping most of the areas where it is deployed. Through the advisory, the paramilitary has directed its personnel to take plenty of water to beat the heat and prevent dehydration. It has also advised the personnel to maintain body salts by taking right kind of food and fluids.
War Room
Room number 129 D in South Block, also known as the War Room, last week hosted a joint Press conference by visiting US Defence Minister and his Indian counterpart after many years. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter addressed the media where they announced an agreement in principle for logistic Support Agreement (lSA) between the two nations. The last such conference was held in 2005 when then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his French counterpart inked the Scorpene submarine deal. However, poor acoustics of the room remain an issue, and Parrikar had difficulty in listening to questions posed by the Indian and US media. Top Defence meetings are regularly held in the War Room, which was earlier used to form strategy during the wars India fought after Independence.
Priyanka lao!
Congress is looking to revive itself in its former bastion of Uttar Pradesh. While Congress chief Sonia Gandhi recently twice ‘secretly’ visited Anand Bhawan in Allahabad and met local workers to boost the morale of the cadre, it is now believed that the next Congress Working Committee (CWC) may be held at Allahabad, the bastion of Nehru-Gandhi family. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has reportedly suggested the Congress high command to start its revival efforts from a place that symbolises Nehru-Gandhi legacy in UP where the grand old party has been out of power for 27 years. Grapevine has it that Kishor has also suggested that Priyanka Vadra Gandhi can be made face of the party.
Kannad films
The Karnataka Government is now making moves to take its regional films at the national level. For the first time, it has launched a three-day Kannada film festival screening critically-acclaimed latest films and blockbusters. Nine contemporary Kannada films are being showcased at the festival jointly organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Karnataka Department of Information and the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy at Siri fort Auditorium. The fest concludes on Monday.