Singer Mulayam
SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav wears many hats. Besides being a politician, he is a wrestler and a teacher too. But now he is seemingly threatening to be a singer. The 75+ leader was recently seen humming some of the local tunes at ‘Safai Mahotsav’ in Uttar Pradesh.
Najma’s elevationIJ
There is a strong buzz in the Ministry of Minority of Affairs that Najma Heptullah is being elevated to the post of the Governor of Punjab. With the MoS Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi handling day-to-day affairs at the Ministry, it has only lent credence to the rumour mills. Prime Minister Narendta Modi’s decision not to keep seventy-plus Minister in his Cabinet is suppose to be the reason behind Najma’s possible exit from the Ministry.
Shedding weight
In a season, where all BJP honchos, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari are trying to shed their extra pounds, Woman and Child Affairs Minister Maneka Gandhi does not want to be left behind. At a lunch meeting with journalists, she said that she is at least 11 kgs overweight. And to cut the flab, she is following a complete no-carb diet.
Delhi-centric MHA
With Delhi Assembly polls round the corner, the Union Home Ministry is on an announcement spree. last week, all of a sudden Home Minister Rajnath Singh convened a Press conference to explain the proposed stringent actions on the atrocities against people from North East. The Minister is actively involved distribution of cheques to the victims of Sikh carnage of 1984 and inauguration of flyovers and projects related to the Delhi Police. As the Election Commission is all set to announce dates of Delhi election, the Home Ministry is wasting not time in meeting its Delhi specific targets before the Model code of conduct came into force.
Keeping under wrap!
The media had a hard time confirming the news of the unscheduled meeting of HRD Minister Smriti Irani with President Pranab Mukherjee. While official sources, both at the HRD Ministry and Rashtrapati Bhavan, earlier confirmed that Irani called on Mukherjee, by evening the Raisina Hill denied any such meeting took place at all. In the past, Rashtrapati Bhavan readily confirmed news of such formal meetings. What made the matter worse was disclosure by a top IIT official who claimed calling on the President, the Visitor of IIT, only to go in the denial mode by the evening. These two meetings acquired importance because they took place in the backdrop of the controversy involving the resignation of IIT Director. Obviously, the Rashtrapati Bhavan did not want to be dragged in the controversy.
Parrikar in control
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in full control last week while interacting with Delhi-based defence correspondents for the first time after assuming office two months back. Clad in heavy woolens, he set the ball rolling by commenting that “I am ready to face the onslaught of Delhi winters as also the barrage of questions from the media.” He then went on to answer the questions for more than an hour on various defence related issues before asking the journos to stop grilling and join him for dinner.