Delhi Confidential: Picking Pace

The work of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Bills on simultaneous elections, known as the One Nation One Election Bills, is expected to gather speed in the coming months. The committee chaired by BJP Lok Sabha member P P Chaudhary is set to visit Gujarat and Karnataka soon to consult state governments and other stakeholders on the impact of simultaneous  polls. The committee, it is learnt, plans to visit as many states as possible before finalising its recommendations.

In Attendance

In what insiders say is intended to be a show of strength with national ramifications, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other Central leaders and Chief Ministers of 20 BJP-ruled states are likely to attend the swearing-in of the new West Bengal government on Saturday. Before that, sources say, the BJP brass will attend the expansion of Samrat Choudhary’s cabinet in Patna on Thursday. Choudhary, the first BJP  Chief Minister in Bihar, had taken oath in a muted ceremony on April 15.

No Discontent

The Director General of the CRPF has instructed senior commanders across formations to ensure that no one posts or circulates any written or visual content critical of government orders. He has directed that such posts must be deleted immediately and that action is being sought against  officers who continue to post such content. Senior officers have been directed to ensure strict compliance.