Delhi confidential: The Jibes

At Sunday's all-party meeting, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked the government why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present at the meeting, which was called by the government, right from the beginning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

A COMBATIVE tone appears to have already been set for the Monsoon Session of Parliament. At Sunday’s all-party meeting, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked the government why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present at the meeting, which was called by the government, right from the beginning. Kharge, according to sources, said the PM has been avoiding attending the meeting. When the PM tweeted about him attending the meeting, TMC’s Derek O’ Brien, quoting it, tweeted: “Prime Minister, Sir, True, You did TAKE PART. The Parliament meeting lasted for 2 hours and 40 minutes. We had the pleasure of your company for 9 minutes. You listened for 3 minutes. Allowed the photographers/video cams in for 2 minutes. And spoke to us for 4 minutes.”

People On Mind

VICE-PRESIDENT M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday had an interaction with Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt. The issue was regarding closure of certain roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment area. The Vice-President’s office said in a statement that during the meeting Naidu, who belongs to Nellore district, “suggested to the minister to look into the closure of public roads in detail and take steps to mitigate the hardship faced by the people”. He also referred to a recent letter that the Telangana Government had written to the Defence Ministry on the issue. The statement said Bhatt assured Naidu “to examine the matter and address the concerns of the people”.

Pushing Yoga

THERE MIGHT be a civil war going on in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, but the International Day of Yoga was celebrated in a big way in the country recently. According to the Indian Embassy in Addis Ababa, there were 100 yoga events held in various cities and regions of Ethiopia to commemorate the day. Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Robert Shetkintong, said that besides India, Ethiopia led the world in commemorating the International Day of Yoga in terms of the highest number of yoga events. Yoga sessions were organised in 26 universities, 50 schools and factories across the country.