Catching ’em young
Catch Them Young, seems to be the latest mantra of the Environment Ministry to save nature. Children drawn from different schools in the national Capital will attend a 12-day programme of the Ministry from Tuesday during their summer vacations. Called Green Teens and Green Cubs, as the names suggests, these programmes will cater to different age groups. “Here students will learn a plethora of environment-related lessons by experts,” an environmentalist quipped, adding that, “What can be better than planning a greener future for the country with the ‘gen next’.”
No double standards, please
Don’t practice double standards, says Organiser editor Prafulla Pradeep Ketkar objecting to the description of the weekly magazine as “RSS mouthpiece”. The left-affiliated publications are described as independent and progressive, but we are measured with another yardstick,” he said. “We are inspired by the RSS and we are proud of that, but we indeed have an independent line on various issues,” Ketkar avers.
For Doval’s sake
Since National Security Advisor Ajit Doval holds a lot of clout in the Modi Government, chiefs of Intelligence agencies make it a point to attend the functions where Doval is scheduled to address. At a BSF investiture ceremony attended here on Friday by Doval, Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing Rajinder Khanna, and former RAW Chief presently head of NTRO Alok Joshi were in attendance. The function, addressed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was also attended by heads of Central Police Organisations like SSB, CRPF etc.
Cutting across party lines
Family functions are opportunity for political leaders to keep aside the barbs and show bonhomie. Something similar was seen during the wedding reception of Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh on Friday in New Delhi. While the presence of Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, was obvious, the entire BJP brigade, lead by PM Narendra Modi, was also there to bless the couple. When Digvijay Singh’s daughter-in-law Sreejamya tried to touch PM’s feet to seek his blessing, PM said: “You are a daughter, don’t touch feet.” BJP veteran lal Krishna Advani made a brief appearance with daughter Pratibha, so did a large number of Cabinet Ministers. .
Yechury wears many hats
CPI(M)’s new General Secretary Sitaram Yechury is wearing several hats in the party. Apart from the Parliamentary party leader’s post, CPI(M) is trying to find a person to edit party’s organ People’s Democracy. The editor has to write weekly editorials on various issues as also serious articles, Yechury is now finding it difficult to tackle this responsibility. The party is also set to set up a new Central Secretariat to look after the day-to-day administration.
Partners in trade!
It has seldom happened in the history of Indian bureaucracy that husband has taken over the reins of a department previously held by his wife. Madhya Pradesh Cadre IAS officer of 1983 batch DM Mitra recently took over as Chief of National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science from his IPS wife Rina Mitra, who belongs to the same batch and Cadre. Government sources said it may be the first case of the type.
Waiting for Amma’s invite
Three senior Cabinet Ministers have kept themselves free on Saturday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. They also boasted before the mediapersons on Friday about their proposed Chennai visit and Tamil Nadu’s newspapers also carried report about their scheduled visit to the city and luncheon plan with Jaya. Sadly, they kept waiting, but no invitation came from the AIADMK supremo. Not even BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit president was invited for the swearing-in.
Job opening with a caveat
Not keen to appoint consultants from the private sector, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has decided to bank upon the former Government employees. The Ministry is in the process of preparing a panel of retired Government staff to recruit them as full-time consultants against the post of Section Officers/Assistant/Accountant/Senior Hindi Translator. Though lucrative salary is being offered, there is a catch. While engagement may be terminated at any time by the Government without assigning any reason, the official will have to give one month’s notice before quitting the job.
Just a welcome party
The last Saturday night witnessed one of the biggest high-profile gatherings in the Capital where top notch politicos rubbed shoulders with filmstars and cricketers. The party was hosted by Amar Singh at his farmhouse in Chhatarpur. Amid speculations about the reason for hosting the party, the host clarified that the party was to welcome Farooq Abdullah, who returned to India after a yearlong treatment in london.
Def Secy bids goodbye
Defence Secretary RK Mathur, who retired this weekend, had a 40-year-long unblemished service record during which he held various positions including that of Tripura Chief Secretary. An IIT graduate, Mathur confessed taking financial decisions in the Defence Ministry was the toughest part of his career. “I used to clear Defence procurement worth over `7,000 to `8,000 crore nearly every day and I must admit it scared me,” Mathur said in a farewell chat with scribes some days back.