Modi’s rejig tale
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done it again. The first Cabinet reshuffle happened on November 9, 2014 and two days later on November 11 Modi left on a 10-day tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji. After the second Cabinet reshuffle, which took place on July 5, 2016 saw Modi embarking on a four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya late evening same day. And on Sunday within hours of swearing-in of new faces in his probably the last and much awaited Cabinet rejig, Modi flew off India for a five-day tour to China and Mayanmar. A senior party member quipped “the PM has tasks cut out for him at home and outside, 24 X 7; 365 day”.
lohani gags his men
Known to be media-savvy himself, the newly appointed Chairman of Railway Board (CRB) Ashwani lohani has issued gag orders to the railway officials on talking to media over serious rail accidents. Realising the potential of negative media reporting which virtually cost the jobs of Suresh Prabhu as Railway Minister and the former CRB AK Mital in the aftermath of two recent rail mishaps, lohani has ordered that in case of serious train accidents, interaction with media would be done only by the CRB (read Ashwani lohani). In case of CRB’s unavailability the next officials authorized to brief/talk to media will be the concerned General Manager (GM) of the affected rail zone. The order has in fact come as a shocker to the railway PR men which boasts of a Secretary level officer as Director General Media, a dedicated Directorate of Publicity (DIP) and a total of 16 Chief Public Relations Officers (CPRO) in respective railway zones.
Dissenting view
Vacancy figures have climbed above 400 in High Courts and six in the Supreme Court, yet the Supreme Court collegium has not met once in the near past. Problem seems to be over the decision by one collegium member, Justice J Chelameswar refusing to take part in the meetings owing to his differences over lack of transparency in collegium decisions. Grapevine has it that before CJI JS Khehar retired; a collegium member called Justice Chelameswar over to his residence for an informal chat. On reaching, Justice Chelameswar realized he was conned as other collegium members were already in attendance with names of judges being discussed for appointment. Justice Chelameswar kept safe distance from the discussion and did not assent to the names either.
Cong versus NOTA
Congresss’ hope for revival in Andhra Pradesh, was crushed when it polled only 1,382 votes in the Nandyal Assembly by-poll, held on 23 August. Congress candidate G Abdul Khader secured slightly more than the NOTA option, which got 1,231 votes. Khader lost his deposit, bagging less than 1 per cent of the votes. In Nandyal, where the minorities comprise 30 per cent of the electorate, the Congress had fielded a Muslim candidate, whereas both the ruling TDP’s and Opposition YSR Congress fielded candidates from Reddy community. This poor show is a matter of concern for the Congress high command, which wants to stage a comeback in States where the BJP is not a major force, in 2019.
Karti’s help
CBI officers expected Karti Chidamabaram would come to their office with some senior advocates, as permitted by the Supreme Court last week. It was a relief to the CBI investigators when son of the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram came with a junior advocate. According to investigators, the advocate was only helping Karti to find some papers and water etc and made no interaction with CBI sleuths.
Women PCR power
Visitors to the Raisina Hill last week were witness to a unique scene with an all women team of Delhi Police guarding the sensitive zone. It is the seat of power housing Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Ministries of Finance, Home and Defence in the South and North Blocks and this team equipped with sophisticated weapons was there to ensure security. These highly trained commandos are part of the all woman Police Control Room (PCR) teams. Braving heat and sultry weather without any shade alongside their male colleagues, these women are deployed to guard the area in shifts.