Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was in the Capital on Thursday to attend oath-taking ceremony of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, visited Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s office in Krishi Bhawan and held a meeting with the ministry’s officials. Chouhan, who is travelling to Madhya Pradesh, joined the meeting via video link from his car, it is learnt. Incidentally, Chouhan’s two deputies — Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary — were also not present when Naidu visited the office to discuss the plight of the state’s chilli farmers. It was a kind of unusual meeting, as CMs generally visit ministry offices to meet Cabinet-rank ministers. A source said the visit was finalised on Wednesday and it was Chouhan’s idea to hold the discussion via videoconferencing from his office. On The Same Side The Supreme Court witnessed some rare bonhomie on Thursday when two usually warring lawyers — Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal — aligned against the January 27, 2025 Lokpal order bringing High Court judges under its purview. Towards the end of the hearing, Sibal remarked, apparently in a lighter vein, “This is a delightful moment for me because we are together.” Justice B R Gavai, who presided over the three-judge bench, chipped in, “fortunately the day starts with a happy note”. Ready To Role The recent reshuffle in the Congress central leadership was aimed at providing fresh impetus to the grand old party, and some of the new appointees have already hit the ground running. Former UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu, who has been given the charge of the Odisha unit, and Rahul Gandhi’s pick Krishna Allavaru, who has been made the in-charge of Bihar Congress, left for their states soon after wrapping up a seven-hour-long meeting with the party’s top leadership in the Capital on Wednesday. On Thursday, they held back-to-back meetings with the local leaders and gathered feedback. While Lallu’s task is a distant one as Assembly elections in Odisha will be held in 2029, Allavaru will have to work with a strict deadline as Bihar goes to polls in a few months.
