GRAPEVINE

Madam’s intimacy to Akbar Road office

Recently, the government sent an eviction notice to Congress to vacate a decades-old office at Akbar Road. Many wonder why Congress is keeping an old small office, even after making a big Indira Bhavan at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Top Congress leaders say the old office is adjacent to Sonia Gandhi’s home, 10 Janpath. She loves this old office and used party headquarters for evening walks. More than that 100s of people living in the old office compound are the workers of Madam’s bungalow. Congress is wondering whether the BJP Government is now planning to issue an eviction notice to Nehru Bhawan on Raisina Road, allotted to build the Congress office, but later converted as Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s office.

Either spokesperson or not!

During a recent gathering at the residences of prominent Parliamentarians, journalists, always craving for scoops and information, learned something bizarre about a former Congress leader, who later entered the Rajya Sabha from a different party. This leader described the failure to convince Rahul Gandhi to appoint them as an AICC Secretary. According to the leader, Rahul Gandhi, argued that being a spokesperson made holding other posts, like AICC Secretary, unnecessary. The leader then commented on the ambitions of Congress’s most vocal spokespersons, who hope for Rajya Sabha berths with every biennial election around.

All is quiet at PHQ

In Delhi Police circles, new LGs (especially non-police background ones) often spark quiet speculation during the initial “Courtesy Call” phase. The Police Commissioner’s early meeting with LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu was purely a briefing on law and order. There is a buzz that the new LG may order changes at the top in the Delhi Police to stamp his arrival. But everything is quiet on the reshuffle front right now. The big move already happened under the former LG VK Saxena and the new LG appears focused on the bigger picture and that’s governance rather than immediate police brass changes. A career diplomat, Sandhu has been focusing on development, law & order, and stakeholder meetings (including a quick review with Police Commissioner Satish Golcha on security, cybercrime, shortly after taking charge).