Delhi confidential: Close Call

Banerjee, who travels to London next month for an official visit, was invited to meet Labour MP Keith Vaz, who is also in the eye of the storm.

Mamata Banerjee

Amid the controversy involving Lalit Modi, Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje, one person who would be heaving a sigh of relief is West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, who travels to London next month for an official visit, was invited to meet Labour MP Keith Vaz, who is also in the eye of the storm. But Banerjee’s office had turned down the invitation before the controversy broke out. Incidentally, the Trinamool Congress has largely been silent on the issue so far.

Lagging Behind
While India waits for tobacco packets to devote 85 per cent space to warnings, in Sri Lanka, packets with 80 per cent warnings have met the June 1 deadline and hit the shelves. Though the government has reiterated its commitment to curbing tobacco use time and again, the committee on subordinate legislation has not held even one meeting wherein the issue of tobacco warnings was on the agenda.

[related-post]

Yoga Attire
Ahead of the government’s Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, officials have been given special T-shirts, presumably to be worn during the event at Rajpath. The white T-shirt has ‘International Day of Yoga 21 June, 2015’ printed on the back and a colourful emblem on the front. Moreover, the HRD Ministry is organising a ‘Rashtriya Yoga Shikshak Sammelan’ on June 22, to be inaugurated by HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will be the guest of honour at the event.

Three Is Company
Kerala might host many ministers on Yoga Day. Abiding by the PM’s directives to ministers that they should go to states and perform yoga on June 21, at least three ministers — Law Minister Sadananda Gowda, Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu — are learnt to have chosen Kerala as the destination. It is not yet clear if the ministers would perform yoga together, but arrangements are being made to get a competent, qualified instructor.

Communication Gap
Following the joint press conference of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, there was confusion about the amount of money released for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir. While Jaitley said Rs 2,437 crore was being immediately released for the state, a press release issued by the Home Ministry said Rs 1,667 crore additional assistance was being released. Officials said the two ministries did not coordinate while issuing the figures, leading to the confusion.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram