Delhi Confidential: Change In Plan

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was supposed to preside over a function to launch books on President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, which also happened to be his birthday. The derailment of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express in Uttar Pradesh forced him to skip the event.

Honouring Icons

With the Congress’s pitch for reservation and social justice paying rich dividends in the Lok Sabha elections, the party is going all out to honour figures who had stood for the cause of the underprivileged. On Thursday, for the first time, the party held a programme in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela on his birth anniversary. The party also plans similar events in honour of Masuriya Din Pasi, a Dalit icon and Congress leader from Prayagraj on his death anniversary (July 21), and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on July 26.

Fresh Harvest

Some MPs staying in Lutyens’ Delhi are making the most of the massive jamun (java plum) trees in their neighbourhood. The staff of an MP who has a house on Firozeshah Road collected a basketful of jamuns on Thursday and served the fruit to guests. The MP boasted of the ‘fresh and organic’ jamuns he was serving them, it is learnt.