THE Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday on the challenge to the Waqf Act saw a robust debate between the lawyers for the petitioners and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna also mentioned how civilised the arguments were in court. However, when senior advocate Kapil Sibal interrupted a couple of times when Mehta was arguing, the two exchanged a few friendly barbs. A visibly irked Mehta turned to the judges and said he had only one avenue — the court — to air his views, “unlike others who also have YouTube”. Sibal, besides being a busy lawyer, an MP and the president of the Supreme Court Bar, also hosts a video podcast, #DilsewithKapilSibal. Change Of Guard JUST DAYS ahead of the annual general meeting of the Prime Ministers' Museum & Library, a major change has been effected at the organisation, with Director Sanjiv Nandan Sahai failing to get an extension of his three-year term. Lily Pandeya, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, who has the charge for UNESCO and international cultural relations, has been roped in meanwhile. Incidentally, the PMML Director is among the four members of the organisation's Executive Council. It is learnt that Sahai, former Power Secretary, was expecting an extension, but it didn't come through. The Absentee WITH AKASH Anand back into the BSP fold a month after his expulsion, top party functionaries and leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were expecting his presence during the organisational meeting that party chief and his aunt Mayawati chaired in Lucknow on Wednesday. However, Akash, the former BSP national coordinator, was not called to the meeting and Mayawati too did not speak on his future role in the organisation. On Wednesday, Mayawati appointed former MP Raja Ram as a national coordinator of the party. The other two in the post are Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam and old party hand Randhir Singh Beniwal.
