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Paying up
Bureaucrats normally faces rough weather when Government changes. Take the example of Tamil Nadu where ADGP (Intelligence) Jafar Sait was ruling the roost when M Karunanidhi was in power. Being close to Kanimozhi, this IPS officer frequently visited Delhi for back channel operations and stayed in star hotels. It is widely believed that, he is the man who brought film stars into DMK. Within two days of assuming power, Jayalalithaa shunted this highflying IPS officer to a refugee camp near to Kanyakumari district as a Special Officer. This post was normally held by an officer in the rank of Tehsildar. Only two constables are the staff in this refugee camp, which houses 3,000 Sri Lankan refugees. On the name of facility, the officer has a phone and a pedestal fan in the camp.
Minister clicks
Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju was a rather busy man last week. Stationed in Basholi near Jammu to oversee preparations for foundation stone laying ceremony of a strategically important bridge there by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister AK Antony on May 23, he had to also look after the interest of the local politicians. They requested him to interact with the nearby village folk and most of them turned out to be young women. Eager to get photographed with the MI-17 IAF helicopter in the backdrop, they could not get a photographer to capture the moment. Raju stepped in and volunteered to do the needful and clicked several shots with his personal camera.
Summer Job
Had it not been for the 2G spectrum case and drafting of the Lokpal Bill, the summer was meant to be a dry spell for mediapersons. But a couple of senior lawyers who have a prime role in the above two cases are ruing their “ruined” vacation. Caught in the 2G spectrum case is senior advocate UU Lalit who is the prosecutor for CBI. Even for advocate Prashant Bhushan, the vacation has lot in store with the Joint Drafting Committee on the Lokpal Bill expected to meet from May 30 on a day-to-day basis. For this reason, when the Supreme Court had to fix a date for the 2G case last week, Bhushan suggested a date during vacations. “My vacations have been ruined by this drafting committee.” Even Lalit is making use of the lost vacation by appearing in most matters before the Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court.
No tears for Kani
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi faced a peculiar situation on Friday when he was accused of giving a “legal reaction” and not empathising with DMK MP Kanimozhi over her arrest in 2G spectrum scam. Singhvi, a lawyer, tried to reason out with scribes that since it was a development concerning legal matter he would rather confine himself the factual position. However, with mediapersons harping about lack of emotion following the arrest of DMK patriarch Karunanidhi’s daughter and fellow MP, he explained he was not supposed to show emotion from party’s platform. “Now, we will have to learn theatrics and show various emotions like crying, tears and joy to satisfy mediapersons,” another spokesman quipped.
Strange coincidence
Scam tainted MPs of Congress — Suresh Kalmadi — and DMK — Kanimozhi — share many things common apart from being lodged in Tihar jail at present. On the day Kalmadi was arrested for his involvement in CWG scam, a chargesheet was filed against Kanimozhi in 2G spectrum scam while on Friday when the latter was arrested, the charge sheet was filed against Kalmadi. It made many wonder whether it was the Government’s way of showing DMK that even Congress leaders were not being speared. A Congress leader termed it a “mere coincidence,” but admitted it was indeed a strange `coincidence.’
Wise counsel
When Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley recently wrote an article on a Supreme Court order quashing the disqualification of rebel BJP MLAs, Law Minister M Veerappa Moliy wanted the Government to respond to it. Already embarrassed on several issue, Government’s PR managers, however, turned down the idea fearing it could lead to another round of embarrassment for the Centre. As Moily continued to insist on taking a “holistic view”, PIB officials said since it was between SC and the Opposition leader, the Government has no reason to join the debate.
Cyber poor
While there are a lot of controversies over families Below Poverty Line (BPL), the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Shailja say she plans to put on internet the list of urban poor to verify their names in the BPL families list. In season of embarrassment for Government, it seems the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviations is readying to contribute its share. The Minister does not realise that few poor are aware of the existence of the cyber world.
Work on hold
The proposal pertaining to new pictorial warnings for tobacco products such as cigarettes and gutka has been gathering dust in the Health Ministry for the past three months, courtesy, and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s political engagements. First, he was busy with TN Assembly polls where his party suffered humiliating defeat. And now he is fighting rebels in Andhra Pradesh where party MLAs are flocking around rebel leader Jagan Reddy. Not surprisingly, Azad has little time to spare for his ministerial work.
Bureaucrats normally faces rough weather when Government changes. Take the example of Tamil Nadu where ADGP (Intelligence) Jafar Sait was ruling the roost when M Karunanidhi was in power. Being close to Kanimozhi, this IPS officer frequently visited Delhi for back channel operations and stayed in star hotels. It is widely believed that, he is the man who brought film stars into DMK. Within two days of assuming power, Jayalalithaa shunted this highflying IPS officer to a refugee camp near to Kanyakumari district as a Special Officer. This post was normally held by an officer in the rank of Tehsildar. Only two constables are the staff in this refugee camp, which houses 3,000 Sri Lankan refugees. On the name of facility, the officer has a phone and a pedestal fan in the camp.
Minister clicks
Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju was a rather busy man last week. Stationed in Basholi near Jammu to oversee preparations for foundation stone laying ceremony of a strategically important bridge there by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister AK Antony on May 23, he had to also look after the interest of the local politicians. They requested him to interact with the nearby village folk and most of them turned out to be young women. Eager to get photographed with the MI-17 IAF helicopter in the backdrop, they could not get a photographer to capture the moment. Raju stepped in and volunteered to do the needful and clicked several shots with his personal camera.
Summer Job
Had it not been for the 2G spectrum case and drafting of the Lokpal Bill, the summer was meant to be a dry spell for mediapersons. But a couple of senior lawyers who have a prime role in the above two cases are ruing their “ruined” vacation. Caught in the 2G spectrum case is senior advocate UU Lalit who is the prosecutor for CBI. Even for advocate Prashant Bhushan, the vacation has lot in store with the Joint Drafting Committee on the Lokpal Bill expected to meet from May 30 on a day-to-day basis. For this reason, when the Supreme Court had to fix a date for the 2G case last week, Bhushan suggested a date during vacations. “My vacations have been ruined by this drafting committee.” Even Lalit is making use of the lost vacation by appearing in most matters before the Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court.
No tears for Kani
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi faced a peculiar situation on Friday when he was accused of giving a “legal reaction” and not empathising with DMK MP Kanimozhi over her arrest in 2G spectrum scam. Singhvi, a lawyer, tried to reason out with scribes that since it was a development concerning legal matter he would rather confine himself the factual position. However, with mediapersons harping about lack of emotion following the arrest of DMK patriarch Karunanidhi’s daughter and fellow MP, he explained he was not supposed to show emotion from party’s platform. “Now, we will have to learn theatrics and show various emotions like crying, tears and joy to satisfy mediapersons,” another spokesman quipped.
Strange coincidence
Scam tainted MPs of Congress — Suresh Kalmadi — and DMK — Kanimozhi — share many things common apart from being lodged in Tihar jail at present. On the day Kalmadi was arrested for his involvement in CWG scam, a chargesheet was filed against Kanimozhi in 2G spectrum scam while on Friday when the latter was arrested, the charge sheet was filed against Kalmadi. It made many wonder whether it was the Government’s way of showing DMK that even Congress leaders were not being speared. A Congress leader termed it a “mere coincidence,” but admitted it was indeed a strange `coincidence.’
Wise counsel
When Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley recently wrote an article on a Supreme Court order quashing the disqualification of rebel BJP MLAs, Law Minister M Veerappa Moliy wanted the Government to respond to it. Already embarrassed on several issue, Government’s PR managers, however, turned down the idea fearing it could lead to another round of embarrassment for the Centre. As Moily continued to insist on taking a “holistic view”, PIB officials said since it was between SC and the Opposition leader, the Government has no reason to join the debate.
Cyber poor
While there are a lot of controversies over families Below Poverty Line (BPL), the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Shailja say she plans to put on internet the list of urban poor to verify their names in the BPL families list. In season of embarrassment for Government, it seems the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviations is readying to contribute its share. The Minister does not realise that few poor are aware of the existence of the cyber world.
Work on hold
The proposal pertaining to new pictorial warnings for tobacco products such as cigarettes and gutka has been gathering dust in the Health Ministry for the past three months, courtesy, and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s political engagements. First, he was busy with TN Assembly polls where his party suffered humiliating defeat. And now he is fighting rebels in Andhra Pradesh where party MLAs are flocking around rebel leader Jagan Reddy. Not surprisingly, Azad has little time to spare for his ministerial work.
