DANGEROUS TIME!
At a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a PIl on banning Sikh jokes, Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar, who is also Sikh, was at his witty best in the court last week. When a senior counsel appearing before Justice Khehar sought time to take instructions in an arbitration dispute and promised to get back by 12 pm, the CJI smiled and said, “It is a dangerous time.” The counsel was puzzled, not quite realising the wisecrack hidden behind 12 pm. The CJI granted the request but with a caveat, saying, “You can take your chance.”
INDIA, RUSSIA BHAI BHAI
The Indian and the Russian Governments kicked off anniversary celebrations of the 70th diplomatic relations between two countries. In New Delhi the Ministry of External Affairs held a function that saw cultural events while the Russian Embassy organised a concert and hosted a dinner that had a combination of Indian and Russian food. Of course, there was vodka and Russian Salad, but there was also chicken tikka and paneer due to which the dining hall made the true reflection of Indo-Russian bonding, because the road to a person’s heart is through stomach.
MANTRI OR MAHAMANTRI
Congressmen and party workers are a peeved lot with the sorry state of affairs of the grand old party. Its successive electoral losses and lack of decision making have brought down the morale of the party. While those rooting for the resurrection of the want that the High Command take action against those who are still being rewarded despite of their futile attempts, the AICC is talking about a major surgery in the system. A senior leader quipped, “When in power, we are Mantri, and when out of power we become Mahamantri. A colleague of his added,” why we need a surgery when Homeopathy works better .”
SONIA VS RAHUl
Tongues are wagging within the Congress circle as to who is to be blamed for joining hands with the Samajwadi party in Uttar Pradesh. While Congress President Sonia Gandhi preferred Mayawati as the alliance partner in the Hind heartland, Rahul opted for Akhilesh Yadav. It has now come to the fore that Rahul’s closest advisers K Raju, a former IAS officer with no background of politics, advised him against an understanding with Mayawati. The BSP leader’s feeler to Sonia was already approved until yet it reached Rahul’s door. On Punjab too Rahul was against Capt Amarinder Singh though he obliged to Sonia’s wishes considering the fact that the Captain was late Rajiv Gandhi’s good friend.
CHARITY AT HOME
The Government may have been encouraging the private sector to provide jobs to the people with disabilities, but a section in the sector feel that the charity must begin at home. They pointed out that all three statutory bodies on disability — Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), Chief Commissioner for People with Disability (CCPD) and National Trust of India (NTI) — are currently headed by a single non-disabled person. The sector has urged the Government to give preference to candidates with disabilities while considering appointment of Chief Commissioner and State Commissioner.
SETTING UP EXAMPlES
Impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of Swachchh Bharat programme, two newly recruited officers of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre have transformed the life of two slums — Sangam Vihar and Ekta Vihar — located in RK Puram in the national Capital. The two IAS officers have convinced slum dwellers to use toilets. Working tandem with some NGOs, the officers have ensured that these two slums are free from open defecation. RK Puram is housed of several bureaucrats and Government employees.
FORGOTTEN BAISAKHI
Prior to Punjab assembly polls, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal not only learnt Punjabi language but also renamed Barapullah elevated road in the name of Banda Bahadur Marg road in Delhi. But after debacle in Punjab polls, Kejriwal forgot to greet the people of Punjab on the occasion of ‘Baisakhi’ festival to Sikh.
HO GAYA GOEl
The Opposition generally accuses the Government of not giving satisfactory answers during the Question Hour, but it was not the case last week in the Rajya Sabha. As Minister of Sports Vijay Goel was giving a detailed reply related to his ministry, Naresh Agrawal(SP) quipped “ho gaya, ho gaya.” He again repeated it when Goel was fielding another query. The reason for Agrawal to indulge in hurrying up Goel was the fact that the SP leader was next in line to ask a question to Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley and time was running out.