GRAPEVINE
Dy Speaker ambitions derailed
From 2019 onwards, Lok Sabha is running without Deputy Speaker, the post always given to largest Opposition party. One senior Congress MP rued, his chance to become Deputy Speaker was sabotaged by other Congress MPs from his State. According to him, in 2014 ruling party BJP asked Congress on suggesting name for Deputy Speaker post and party did not take up that offer. He says, some of his colleagues envied of him getting good bungalow and amenities and seat on front row along with Leader of Opposition. “They might not like to address me with respect, when I sit on Chair,” quipped veteran Congress MP from down south.
Who will be Bihar’s Sanjay!
With the imminent change of political setup in Bihar, the long-time bureaucratic associates of Nitish Kumar will see a major upheaval. All eyes are now on Chief Secretary Pratayay Amrit, the most trusted Babu of ‘Susashan Kumar’. While Pratayay Amrit has ‘friends’ across party lines and is considered close to JDU’s chief strategist Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha and would do best to secure his position, grapevine in the corridors of Seva Teerth has it that Sanjay Kumar, 1990 IAS Bihar, currently serving as Secretary of School Education in Union Ministry of Education, could be repatriated to his home cadre with a fixed tenure as CS. Before Holi in Bihar, Sanjay Kumar was being considered for appointment as the new CEO of NITI Aayog.
Uneasy Start at Seva Teerth
The first Cabinet meeting held in the newly constructed ‘Seva Teerth’ began on a noticeably uneasy note, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing strong displeasure over the functioning of the Education Ministry’s autonomous arms UGC and NCERT. Sources familiar with the meeting said PM questioned why issues relating to academic bodies were repeatedly becoming national talking points and occupying prime space in the media. Despite the serious tone of the early part of the meeting, there were lighter exchanges too once the discussion moved beyond the contentious topics. A few were heard chatting about the architectural layout and Vastu of the ‘New PMO’.
