SP vrooms on Maya’s e-way
When Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh recently went to meet Ramgopal Yadav to discuss the issue of land Acquisition Bill, he asked the SP leader how long it had been since he reached Delhi. Ramgopal, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s cousin, replied, “Four hours ago.” Ramesh, apparently knowing the time of Ramgopal’s departure time from UP’s interiors, then asked in a tongue-in-cheek manner if the UP roads were so good that it took him less than four hours to reach the Capital. “I took Mayawati’s road (Yamuna Expressway),” Ramgopal replied. Coming from a bitter archrival, Ramgopal’s words would surely be music to Maya’s ears.
JS stuns senior
In Indian bureaucracy, seldom does a junior IAS officer take head on his seniormost in the department. But a Joint Secretary (JS) directing an Additional Secretary (AS) to facilitate at the earliest permission for opening of a teacher training course at the Central University, Tamil Nadu, has left the babudom in the HRD Ministry startled. In a strongly worded letter to AS Dr Amarjit Singh, JS Anant Kumar Singh has asked his senior to ignore the technical clauses on the basis of which Dr Singh rejected the proposal from the southern Central University. Before Dr Singh moves from the HRD Ministry to UPSC shortly, the JS also gave him a piece of advice: To ignore certain technical approach as such things dampen the interest shown by a Central University in its expansion plan.
Fali’s Parsi bonding
Senior advocate Fali S Nariman who appeared for the 76-year-old widow Zaibunisa, a convict in the 1993 bomb blasts, was concerned last week over the outcome of another convict, whom he did not represent. This convict was Kersi Bapuji Adajania, who is equally old as Zaibunisa. As the Court allowed Adajania an extension of four weeks to surrender, Nariman seemed relieved. Only later did the Court come to know of Nariman’s special interest in the case. “He (Adajania) belongs to my community,” Nariman declared before the Court, not shying to reveal his Parsi leanings.
AP babus’ Delhi dash
The Andhra Pradesh cadre so far was considered to be a good State cadre where the bureaucracy has enough scope to prove. But the prolonged political turmoil gripping the Kiran Reddy Government is worrying the IAS and IPS lobby. More so since the senior most officials are increasingly being treated in a roughshod way by MlAs and Corporators. Grapevine has it that over a dozen IAS officers have expressed their interest to move on Central deputation.
Modi backs Modi
From a trusted aide of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, his deputy and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has suddenly turned ‘rebel’ in questioning the JD (U)’s barbs against Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. As party leaders in Delhi are pleasantly surprised to see the junior Modi flexing muscles, his detractors are furious at TV journalists for projecting him as a backer of senior Modi. “Perhaps the junior has realised that the future belongs to senior Modi,” quipped a pro-Modi leader.
Elizabeth’s the ‘boss’
Defence Minister AK Antony is in the business of preparing for war and maintaining operational preparedness of the armed forces but likes to maintain peace at all costs on his domestic front. Maldivian Defence Minister Colonel Mohammed Nazim learnt about it last week during a dinner hosted by Antony and his wife Elizabeth here. Nazim and his wife went gaga over the natural beauty of their country and invited the Antony couple to Maldives. But Antony lost no time to quip: “The interesting proposition has the potential of creating problem at home.” Antony surely knows his limits, at home.
Sadda Tom
The controversy over Punjabi film Sadda Haq had put Film Certification Appellate Tribunal member and Congress media department Secretary Tom Vaddakkan in a tight spot recently. In view of the sensitivity involved with the film praising Khalistani terrorist Bhinderawale, Tom was not in favour of the film getting a clearance and even absented from a scheduled meeting of the panel. But FCAT Chairman lalit Bhasin went ahead and cleared the film much to the embarrassment of the Congress leader. However, Tom heaved a sigh of relief when courts intervened and banned the release of the film.
JPC draft ghost-writtenIJ
Putting the blame on the Telecom Department for neglecting the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on an irrelevant 10-year-old proposed Bill in the draft report of JPC has raised eyebrows and suspicions about the actual author of the controversial report. Many members of JPC say this aspect was never debated for the past two years in the JPC and wonder about a two-page-long description on this subject. Skeptical Opposition MPs as well as some ruling party MPs doubt there is an author behind the scene. Some say, the author was once in the JPC and later became a Minister related to this subject.
Protests in MHA
last week, slogans reverberated on the Home Ministry premises. Hundreds of casual employees staged a dharna in front of a Joint Secretary level officer for non-payment of their salary for the past many months. It turns out a private agency has been for the last seven years supplying the manpower to the Government. The Government pays around Rs 9000 per head to the agency, which pays around Rs7,500 to the personnel. Differences between the government and the manpower supplier have led to non-payment of salary to casual employees.
Eyeing Bangalore from Delhi
As Karnataka is going for polls, several ministers from Karnataka in the Union Cabinet are becoming ambitious. It is a known secret that labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily have an eye on the post of Chief Minister if the Congress comes to power. The activities in their offices in Delhi have thus come to a virtual standstill.
Making Centre sweat
Despite repeated requests by the Union Health Ministry and at a time when the Centre is in court for the unified Common Entrance Test, Delhi Government-run Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University had refused to withdraw its controversial notice seeking admission for MBBS examination. Sources said it was only after Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called up State Health Minister AK Walia to intervene in the matter that the adamant authorities of the University fell in line and withdrew the admission order.
CBI’s diktat
Apparently miffed with scribes seeking to meet officials without prior appointment, the CBI has issued instructions for entry of beat reporters only between 4pm and 5 pm into the agency’s headquarters. The agency spokesperson has also been directed to ensure that every journo leaves the premises after 5 pm. With the instruction in place, the beat correspondents are left with no option but to depend on the spokesperson for getting details on day-to-day developments or developing any special story. Thankfully, the spokesperson is quite a media-friendly person who tries her best to satisfy the queries from the reporters.
Govt advert ‘confusing’
Experts of Siddha system in Tamil Nadu are up in arms against the ‘misleading’ advertisement issued in the media last week by the Department of Ayush under the Union Health Ministry for Indian System of Medicines (ISM) interventions for prevention and management of common flu like fevers. They have alleged that the ad is totally confusing the public as it contains the references of six medicines under ‘medical management’ and does not specify whether all the six items are to be taken simultaneously and for how long. Some of the drugs named in the ads were not even available in the market.