Call of protocol

Days before the swearing-in of the Modi government, the Congress is said to be weighing the future of Governors it had appointed. Sources said Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh and Punjab Governor and Administrator of the UT of Chandigarh Shivraj Patil met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, triggering speculation that the Congress is thinking about taking a call on their fate. While there is no legal bar on their continuance, what is worrying the Governors was the fact that the UPA I had informally asked NDA-appointed Governors to quit after it came to power in 2004. The grapevine in the Congress is that it may ask many of its active politician-turned-Governors to quit office.

ATTACK MODE

Realizing new political equations emerging in Bihar with Lalu Prasad supporting the JD(U) government, Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP Thursday went on the offensive. Paswan’s son, who otherwise uses Twitter sparingly, tweeted that Nitish Kumar has humiliated Dalits as Jitan Ram Manjhi would be a “stopgap” CM. He dared Nitish to name Manjhi as the CM candidate for next year’s Assembly polls.

MUSICAL CHAIR 

Following the removal of M W Ansari from the post of secretary, Maulana Azad Education Foundation early this month, the post has become a musical chair. D S Vasishth, MD of National Minority Development Financial Corporation, was first given additional charge. Within days, M A Imam, Deputy Secretary, Minority Affairs Ministry, was given charge. And on Tuesday, Secretary of Central Wakf Council Ali Ahmed Khan took over.