Delhi Confidential: An unusual sight as Piyush Goyal inaugurates national workshop on Legal Metrology Act 

By the book: It was an unusual sight during the national workshop on Legal Metrology Act, 2009, which was inaugurated by Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday. When Goyal stood to speak, he brought several books along with him. One of the books was Kautilya’s Arthashastra. To remind the central and state officials about their responsibility, Goyal read out a paragraph from the book. He revealed that a state minister had gifted the book.

The divide: There appears to be a deep divide over the government’s move to raise marriageable age of women from 18 to 21. On Monday, when the parliamentary standing committee on Education, Women, Children Youth and Sports invited NGOs to give their views, three NGOs were against it while representatives of three NGOs vociferously backed it. Three women aged between 19 and 22 representing Lado Panchayat, a women’s group taking on khap panchayats across Haryana, argued that young women will get a window for personal growth and development and that it will provide them a solid logical and legal argument to reject family pressures for getting married. Even Kailash Satyarthi’s Children Foundation strongly backed the Bill before the panel led by BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.

Voice of support: At the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Monday, one member was very forthright. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s well-attended rally in Telangana last week, Rajani Patil was learnt to have said that the party can be revived if Rahul holds such rallies in every state. Patil, the Congress in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, was said to have observed that the party will not need to hold chintan shivirs if Rahul holds such rallies. Many members could not attend the CWC meeting, prominent among them being AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is abroad and is returning either Tuesday or Wednesday. And amid the CWC meeting, there was buzz that Rahul could travel to Udaipur in a train. Party sources said two coaches have been booked and if Rahul decides to take the train, a large number of leaders will accompany him.