JAIlED, GAINED
Praising Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his ‘happy’ and ‘easygoing ways’ on the occasion of the release of former’s book Andhere se Ujaale ki Oar, BJP president Amit Shah said the senior BJP leader was in the prison for the entire-duration of Emergency but still when he came out “his weight had increased by 10 kg”. This evoked an all-round laughter including that of Jaitley.
KETAN’S SHADOW
The appointment of former Medical Council of India (MCI) chief Ketan Desai, who faced allegations of corruption, as the president of the World Medical Association (WMA) has triggered a controversy. Just as Desai delivered his inaugural speech as president of the WMA at the Association’s Annual Assembly in Taiwan, Kunal Saha, a physician of Indian origin in US and president, People for Better Treatment (PBT), sent a legal notice to the medical education body and the Union Health Ministry against his appointment alleging that the ‘scam-tainted’ Desai does not deserve such a post. Saha has also threatened to take them to the court if they fail to take any action in the matter within a week.
RESIGNATION-READY
The battle of “ideology” has landed a Vice-Chancellor of a very prominent Central University in a soup. Before the matter leads to an ego clash, the V-C claimed to his confidants that his resignation letter is ready and he is always carrying it with him, particularly, whenever he visits the HRD Ministry office at Shashtri Bhawan. And the reason for doing so he said is because even though he has been an RSS appointee, he regretted the fact that HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar took him to task in the presence of several officials and V-Cs. Grapevine has it that the V-C declined to obey Javadekar on an administrative issue.
DIWAlI GIFT TO IPS
Five retired IPS officers, including former Delhi top cop BS Bassi, have finally got post-retirement jobs. The former Delhi Police Commissioner was in the limelight due to his direct confrontation with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Centre has now made him Member, UPSC. While 1977-batch Prakash Mishra has been appointed DG Home Guards and Civil Defence, 1979-batch IPS DK Pathak has been entrusted with the task of carrying on the dialogue between the Centre and the Naga groups. Satish Chandra Jha, the 1981 IPS Bihar cadre, has been made Advisor, NTRO and Ashok Prasad, 1979 batch IPS officer is now Consultant, MHA.
PlAYED SAFE
In these days of anti-Pakistan mood amid demands for banning Pakistan artistes and TV serials in India, one Indian journalist stunned the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup by asking for his opinion as a writer on this issue during his weekly Press conference. Vikas is an accomplished author with several of his books being best sellers. A surprised Swarup, who was so far dodging all tough questions on India-Pak tensions, was taken aback by this googly for a while. But the professional diplomat that he is, Swarup did not set his foot on this minefield of controversy and made it clear that he was speaking from that chair strictly in his capacity as official spokesperson of the MEA. "So please direct your question to me only in that capacity," Swarup said.
CONG AD
The Congress last week sought the latest advertisement rates of all newspapers. The party leadership is very certain that the Government is not going to issue advertisements on Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary on October 31 and instead, issue commemorative advertisements on the day for Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary. And Congress managers say newspapers are not at all lenient and charging them high rates. No wonder, many in the party are reminiscing the good old days in power.
SYNERGY MARATHONS
A group of Navy and Army personnel will celebrate the forthcoming Navy and Army Days in a unique way by running mini marathons every day all over the country. led by Commander Joginder Chandna, an ace runner, the selected athletes will run 21 km every day, starting the Navy Day on December 4 and continue the daily grind till January 15 marking the Army Day. The events are planned to highlight the synergy between the armed forces, and people from other walks are also likely to participate in the race.
lOST APPEAl
The Supreme Court is hearing a crucial debate on keeping religious appeal out of electoral politics but the Central Government is nowhere in the picture. last week, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for Madhya Pradesh in the matter, told the seven-judge Bench to hear Attorney General on the crucial question as it involved the Constitutional right to free speech as well. But CJI TS Thakur snubbed the law officer: "Why should we invite A-G to know the stand of the Centre, we do not need Centre's assistance."