Friend turned foeIJ
As NDA convener, Sharad Yadav of JD(U) was much sought after by the Government to defuse any crisis in Parliament. When Andhra Pradesh MPs held the lok Sabha to ransom recently, Yadav offered to speak to ‘old friend’ Chandrababu Naidu to rein in his MPs. At a meeting of senior Ministers and some Opposition leaders, Yadav dialed Naidu’s number twice, but the latter refused to come on the line. An embarrassed Yadav then backed off. Perhaps he is yet to come to terms with his new status.
‘Home’ hunting
Rebel Congress MP Rao Indrajeet Singh is hunting for a new ‘home’. The politician, son of a former Haryana Chief Minister, is in touch with some senior BJP leaders and has held a couple of meetings with them. Grapevine has it that a senior BJP leader from Delhi is acting as a mediator. Targeting 272+ seats, the BJP is eager to embrace the leader.
Movie rating from MoS
Notwithstanding protests in Tamil Nadu against Madras Cafe, Minister of State for Home RPN Singh is highly appreciative of the movie. He was heard recommending scribes to watch the film, at the Mahadev Auditorium recently. “It’s another thing that rats were giving us company,” he was heard joking.
CBI flummoxed
With a number of media organisations downsizing their staff in the wake of the economic slowdown, the CBI is facing a problem updating its list of beat correspondents. When the agency’s staff called up journos to attend a conference of chief vigilance officers of public sector banks last week, scribes who were chucked off from the rolls of prominent media houses assured CBI staffers of their attendance without divulging the change in their status. CBI staffers of the information wing later learnt that some of the mediamen are no longer associated with organisations as recorded in the agency’s media list. Some staff felt that the journos should have clarified so alternate reporters could have been invited.
Running feud
Uttar Pradesh cadre official K Chandramouli, chairperson of the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), is once again at loggerheads with newly-appointed FSSAI chief DK Samantaray, an IAS from Madhya Pradesh cadre. It is learnt that Chandramouli wants to empower sanitary workers in Uttar Pradesh as food safety officers, a proposal which is being strongly opposed by Samantaray, citing qualification concerns. Earlier too, Chandramouli had crossed swords with previous CEOs, including SN Mohanty and VN Gaur.
Following the leader
President Pranab Mukherjee’s decision to remove ‘His Excellency’ from his name may force Governors to follow suit. last week, in the Supreme Court, when the Uttar Pradesh Government addressed the Governor as ‘His Excellency’ while reading out a list of persons entitled to red beacons in the State, Justice GS Singhvi interrupted. “You can avoid that. The President has already given up that title.”
Not fine with fines
It pains to pay Rs 100 per kg for onions but for a similar amount, one can flout traffic regulations and get away with it, without feeling the pinch. With the fine prescribed for most traffic offences under the Central Motor Vehicles Act being Rs 100 for a first offender, senior advocate Harish Salve opined that rules were bound to be broken this way. “In a country where onions cost Rs 100 a kilo, these fines are mockable,” he remarked. He is assisting the Supreme Court in restricting use of sirens and beacons to constitutional functionaries.
Warning! Red tape ahead
The Centre is expected to face a major manpower crisis at the Assistant level. After the promotion list of 376 Central Secretariat Services (CSS) cadre officials recently at one go, from Assistant level to Section Officer, another lot of over 300 CSS officials are waiting to be promoted. With almost all CSS cadre elevated from Assistants — who handle the major part of bureaucratic pressure at Central Government offices — red-tapism is likely to be rife once again.
Jayanthi strikes back
Tired of taking barbs from Union Tribal Affairs Minister KC Deo for violation of the Forest Rights’ Act (FRA), Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan has reportedly written to him, pointing out that his concern seemed confined to his home State Andhra Pradesh. Jayanthi asked Deo why did he not use his power to ensure that all gram sabhas of the tribal region of Niyamagiri hills in Odisha take part in the decision-making process for bauxite mining, according to the apex court order. After all, these tribals belong to the endangered primitive category of Dongria Kondhs, among the most vulnerable tribes in the country!
Forgotten promise
After announcing his decision to launch a 24x7 helpline for the safety and assistance of tourists, including foreigners, early this year with much fanfare, Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi is silent about its fate. Except issuing statements after every crime reported against a foreigner, the Minister has not spoken a word on the status of the helpline that was proposed to be kicked off from April.