Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on August 30, 2019
Delhi Confidential: Surprise Request
On Thursday, the aspirant landed up at the BJP headquarters to hand over a dossier with articles and pictures of his “public service” in his native place and a box of sweets for Baluni.
Anil Baluni
Come election time, and political leaders, especially the known faces, are flooded with requests for poll tickets. However, BJP MP and head of its national media cell Anil Baluni got such a request from a very unexpected source. Baluni was returning to India after an official trip and was at the immigration counter at Delhi airport. As he approached the official at the counter, he was greeted with joy and respect. “I need a ticket,” the official said, and Baluni promptly took out his flight ticket. But the official clarified that he wanted a ticket to contest election from Haryana, where polls are due in the coming months. On Thursday, the aspirant landed up at the BJP headquarters to hand over a dossier with articles and pictures of his “public service” in his native place and a box of sweets for Baluni.
Special Interest
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s fountain pens led to the much-needed thaw amid the acerbity in the P Chidambaram hearing, with Senior Advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Congress leader, taking time to inspect the pens before returning them with a thumbs up. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for the former Union minister, was heard telling Mehta, who is a fountain pen aficionado, “aakhir likhna hi to hai (after all, the purpose is to write)”. Sibal also “complained” that Mehta was yet to see his collection of paintings.
Hearing Them Out
The Election Commission is reviewing the national party status of the NCP, TMC and CPI. Although the three parties have urged the poll panel to take a lenient view, it seems unlikely. The Commission, however, has decided to grant each of the parties a personal hearing before taking a final decision on whether they will continue to enjoy national party status. The personal hearing, in all likelihood, will be in the second week of September.
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