Delhi Confidential: Lohri Deadline

Union Power Minister Manohar Lal ensured that Lohri celebrations organised at Haryana Bhawan on Tuesday concluded at the legally-mandated deadline of 10pm. In addition to the minister, CJI Suya Kant and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta were among those who attended the event that was organised by Haryanvi Maitri Sabha. Sources among the guests at the event said the minister had issued clear instructions to wrap it up by 10pm sharp, which were adhered to.

Courteous Call

After instances of friction between MPs and officers during committee meetings in the recent past, all Union and state government officials have been reminded by the Department of Personnel and Training of the guidelines on how to behave with the elected representatives, from being courteous during meetings and calls to avoiding pre-printed written replies for correspondence. After a Parliamentary Standing Committee in October 2025 asked for the existing guidelines to be reiterated, the DoPT on Monday put out an office memo. The guidelines say while officials should listen to MPs, MLAs and MLCs patiently, they must act only as per their own best judgement and the rules.

Rural Roots

At the launch of a report about Gurgaon’s Aravalli landscape on Wednesday, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav reminisced about the time he spent in some of the villages which were a subject of the report. During the launch in Delhi, Haryana’s Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh, who hails from Gairatpur Bas, one of the villages studied for the report, was also on the dais. Yadav’s family belongs to Jamalpur in Gurgaon.