Guarded secret
The BJP is not to reveal its candidates for President and Vice-President before Opposition parties. Confident of electing its nominees for the two top constitutional posts, the party would keep its cards up its sleeves and watch out the moves of the Congress-led Opposition on the issue. BJP leaders say that the party’s nominees have already been finalised. When asked who are they IJ The leaders close to party president Amit Shah said “it should be addressed to 7, lok Kalyan Marg.”
PAN to pauper
An argument in the Supreme Court last week on whether having PAN was sufficient or it should be replaced with Aadhaar as a proof for filing Income Return had its lighter moments when Justice AK Sikri observed, “Whenever there is a matrimonial alliance, the groom claims he has the best of income but whenever the relationship soars and things come down to the stage when maintenance is to be paid by the husband, he turns into a pauper.”
IAS’ witch-hunt
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to bureaucrats last week, concerns were raised against the vindictive politics impacting the IAS officers. It was highlighted that 18 IAS officers of various cadres have been arrested from 2014 to March 2017.
They include three from Rajasthan cadre, two each from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Union Territories cadres, and one each from Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Telangana.
“If this continues, youngsters will be interested in joining the bureaucracy,” said a senior IAS officer.
Cong fund crisis
The Congress is not only facing repeated electoral drubbing, but it’s also facing a major fund crunch as it prepares for Assembly elections few months later. The situation is so grim that a particular industrialist who grew under the Congress’ patronage has now stopped taking even calls from AICC general secretaries.
Race starts for new CAG
After Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha got one-year extension, senior Government Secretaries eying his posts have shifted their focus on the post of the coveted chair of the CAG. The Government top auditor SK Sharma is retiring in September and as many as six senior most IAS officers are in the race for his six-year term. After the way the Centre flummoxed them by giving extension to Sinha, they would rather keep their fingers crossed.
Pranab’s foundation
President Pranab Mukherjee is likely to set up a foundation after retirement at the age of 82 in July 2017. According to grapevines, the foundation would propagate and educate the future generations on the ideals for which Mukherjee stood in his long political career. The foundation will also offer fellowships and undertake research in issues related to foreign, defence, and energy policies-areas in which Pranab Mukherjee devoted his entire life. The faculty will comprise professors and lecturers.
Mole caught
State Congress chief Ajay Maken had appointed a shadow Cabinet two years ago to keep an eye on the functioning of AAP Government in Delhi.
One of his shadow Cabinet members was caught leaking information to a senior BJP leader who is currently holding an important portfolio in the Narendra Modi Government. When this was revealed to Maken, he immediately removed the ‘mole’. This incident led to the resignation of a senior Delhi Congress leader ahead of the municipal polls.