© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Trinamool Congress’s list of candidates for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha election for six seats from West Bengal had one surprise omission — sitting MP Sushmita Dev. While the TMC renominated Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, it gave tickets to three new faces. Dev is said to be keen to contest from the Silchar Lok Sabha seat in Assam, which she had represented from 2014 to 2019. However, there is a hitch. According to the Election Commission’s draft delimitation proposal for Assam, the Silchar seat will become a reserved (SC) seat. The delimitation matter is being heard by the Supreme Court and Dev is pinning her hopes on the apex court ordering a stay on the delimitation exercise.
Damage Control
With the rain wreaking havoc across north India, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has called for all hands on the deck to monitor the highways. Apart from setting up a control room in the ministry to coordinate complaints from the public about damage to highways or unsafe conditions, Gadkari has also asked officials to ensure quick resolution of issues arising due to heavy rain. Ministry officials are required to monitor TV news to quickly learn of any situation of highway damage anywhere and coordinate with regional offices to fix issues promptly.
For Memorable Session
From fridge magnets to stoles, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat is getting ready a range of souvenirs with the logo of the new Parliament building for MPs as well as visitors. As preparations for the Monsoon Session from July 20 are underway, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has invited bids for supply of nine different souvenir items, including a badge for the lapel, a crystal cube with an etched image, stoles in two different colours and wooden objects like phone stands and key holders, all carrying the new building’s photo or black and white logo.
