Delhi Confidential: Giving It A Miss

The absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Army Chief’s ‘at home’ function on Wednesday had many tongues wagging. Singh had never in the past missed the at home function of any armed force’s chief whenever he was in town. The explanation being given is that the PM had a bad cold and therefore, skipped the outdoor function, as advised by the doctors. Singh, however, attended other meetings through the day, which were held indoors.

RETIRED HURT

Former home secretary R K Singh is upset with the government over many things but the grapevine has it that it was his inability to retain the plush five-bedroom house at New Moti Bagh that rubbed salt on his wounds. He wanted to follow the footsteps of former CBI director A P Singh, who had managed to retain the 22, Tughlak Crescent bungalow after retirement. Six months before he retired, R K Singh made a request to the government to shift out of the accommodation earmarked for the home secretary at New Moti Bagh officers’ complex and be accommodated in Lutyens’ Delhi, citing proximity to his office. The government rejected the proposal. A month before his retirement, he made another request to the government, this time seeking to retain the house for another eight months. This request was also turned down and he was asked to vacate the bungalow within a month. It was after this that he shifted to C-II flat in the same complex, which he has to vacate by February end.