Delhi Confidential: After Promotion

With the Supreme Court announcing names of 39 new senior advocates on Wednesday, the corridors of the top court were filled with jubilation. One of the new senior advocates, Gaurav Sharma, appeared in the Chief Justice of India’s court and was congratulated by the bench. While dictating the order, CJI Chandrachud, in a lighter vein, said that Senior Advocate Sharma appeared in his junior advocate gown. The tag of ‘senior’ adds to the stature of an advocate and after the promotion, they wear a distinctive black gown carrying flaps on the back even though rules do not prescribe it.

Striking A Rapport

BJP leaders are trying to make the Prime Minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ a brand. Former Union minister V Muraleedharan recently launched a quiz competition based on the programme for students in Karala’s Thiruvananthapuram district. After the third edition of the quiz, Muraleedharan arranged a trip for the winners — 23 of them — to the national capital to witness the Independence Day programme at the Red Fort. He also arranged students’ meetings with senior ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Dharmendra Pradhan. The party hopes that it is a good way to strike a rapport with the youngsters.

Striking A Rapport

BJP ally in National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has got approval from the Election Commission for changing its party symbol from ‘stick’ to ‘key’. Party leaders say confusion between ‘stick’ and ‘hockey stick’ has led to loss of votes for the party in the Assembly elections of 2017, 2022 and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Party claims that on a few seats, little known independent candidates with ‘hockey stick’ as the election symbol got a lot of votes due to this confusion.