Delhi Confidential: Swachh Twitch

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been one of the flagship programmes of PM Naren­dra Modi. With the PM often urging his ministers to do everything to make it a peo­ple’s movement, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently offered a quiet remi­nder about it. As he was leaving an event at a luxury hotel, he not­i­ced a piece of paper on the staircase leading to the exit. Vaishnaw picked the paper and handed it to the maintenance staff to the pleasant surprise of people around.

Bihar Lessons

After the Congress’s poor show in the Bihar elections, a section of leaders in Samaj­wadi Party has started conveying to their leadership about the need to revisit its alliance (with Congress) for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls. The leaders are learnt to have advised the SP high command it needs to finalise seat-sharing “well in adva­nce” to avoid a “Bihar-like situation”. Also, they want that the Congress should be told to keep “winnability” in mind for allocation of seats.

Cop, Class

Students studying English journalism at the IIMC got a rare peek behind the ‘khakhi’ curtain when a senior Delhi Police officer dropped by for an interactive session earlier this week. He spoke candidly about delicate dance between report­ers and cops—equal parts collaboration and confrontation—while dishing out practical insights on crime reporting. From “what not to write” to “how to keep sour­ces talking”, the session had students scribbling away.

In Limelight

The lone BSP MLA in Bihar’s newly elected Assembly, Satish Kumar Singh Yadav, was the centre of attention during a meeting called by party chief Mayawati Wednesday. Mayawati met him separately and asked him to strengthen the party base in Bihar. Sources said Yadav got special attention because it was after a long time the party had tasted success in state polls.