Evasive Shanta As a political fiasco unfolded in Karnataka,senior BJP leader from Himachal Shanta Kumar,who is in charge of party affairs for the important south Indian state,was missing from the scene. Shanta Kumar remained throughout at Palampur,as Venkiah Naidu took the centrestage to deal with the crisis in Karnataka. Many leaders in Himachal were left wondering as to why Shanta took a backseat. During his stay in Palampur,Shanta Kumar was seen at the Yoga camps of Ramdev. Later,he left for a foreign tour without visiting Bangalore. Captivating fact Who does not know the politics over caps in Himachal,with two strongest political heavyweights Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh patronising different types of caps. But now a third category has emerged with Chief Justice Kurian Joseph sporting a mutli-colour Kullu-style cap. Just like the judge who has gained popularity among the masses with his approach towards social issues,the cap worn by him,too,is getting popular. The number of people in Shimla,including tourists on the Mall Road,sporting the Kullu cap has evidently gone up. Convenient view? As head of IAS Officers Association,Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Avay Shukla has thoroughly opposed the idea of posting Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers on key administrative posts meant for IAS cadre. On the contrary,as ACS (Forest),Shukla was the one who had forwarded names of the three IFS officers who were recently posted in the Secretariat,citing a shortage of IAS officers in the state. This has resulted in many IAS officers questioning Shuklas intentions. An IAS officer said: As policy makers,IAS officers take an objective view and not subjective. In both situations,he (Shukla) is right if looked at objectively. However,some politicians are reacting to it in a different way and questioning if IAS officers really have a objective view or a convenient one?
