Delhi Confidential: At it again

GIVING HOPE

She first gave a pep talk to the Congress MPs who managed to win and then hosted a lunch for all the UPA MPs. On Friday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have written to some of the senior Congress leaders, asking them not to be disheartened by the election results. She is said to have argued that the UPA government had done good work and asked them to reach out to the people in their constituencies. She wanted them to take a fresh approach to work at the ground level and regain the people’s confidence. Congress general secretary Ambika Soni, one of those who received the communication from Sonia, said the letter has inspired her.

CRACKING THE WHIP

The punctuality of its trains may still be a matter of debate, but the Indian Railways, under the new government, is now trying to ensure its officers and staff report to work on time. In a series of orders, Rail Bhavan has asked its personnel to strictly adhere to the 9 am to 5.30 pm work hours with a half-hour lunch break in between. In fact, the ministry has now introduced a “daily statement of punctuality” in which every branch has to communicate on a daily basis details about the number of staff present in office, number of those who were punctual and names of those who reported late at work.