Delhi Confidential: Collecting Kudos 

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi, who hosted the ninth conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, India region, in Udaipur, is getting applause aplenty from leaders across the political spectrum, as well as Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. All speakers at the two-day conference showered praises on Joshi for his initiatives in the Assembly and for the way he conducted the House proceedings. What surprised everyone was the way even Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot complimented Joshi, known as his arch-rival in the state Congress. In the inaugural function, Gehlot said the way Joshi worked on the “pros and cons” has become history. “He has not spared anyone — be it the [Congress] party or the Opposition,” Gehlot said. In private conversations, Joshi, it is learnt, has also appreciated the way Gehlot “single-handedly” scuttled efforts by the BJP to overthrow the Congress government in the state.

Landing Preparations

The Ministry of Science and Technology will organise a special screening of Chandrayan-3’s landing on Wednesday. Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, who is also MoS, Space, has decided to host the event at CSIR’s headquarters in Anusandhan Bhavan in the national capital. The screening will take place from 4.30 pm. After a brief message from the ISRO chief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to join the screening virtually from South Africa and deliver a message right after the landing — expected at 6.04 pm. The screening will be open for the scientific community and their families, as well as for bureaucrats and the media. Singh will be present at the screening.

Bench Strength

Addressing a felicitation ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and S V Bhatti on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said he was pleasantly surprised to learn that Justice Bhuyan is an accomplished amateur tabla player. “Just in the coffee lounge today we were discussing the wide talent we are having apart from judicial talent on the bench. Brother Amanullah (Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah) is one of the judges who has donned a flying licence. So we now have somebody who has or had a flying licence and someone who has been competing with Zakir Hussain,” the CJI said.