Delhi confidential: Mann talk

AAP MP Bhagwant Mann’s assertion that traces of uranium were founded in contaminated groundwater in Punjab took many MPs by surprise.

narendra modi, Congress, Rahul Gandhi, BJP, Bhagwant Mann, National Judicial Appointments Commission, Arvind Kejriwal, AAP, bjp govt, modi govt, india news

AAM Aadmi Party’s Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann

AAM Aadmi Party’s Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann’s assertion that traces of uranium were founded in contaminated groundwater in Punjab took many MPs by surprise. Some from the Treasury benches tried to point out that Mann was probably confusing arsenic or ‘flouride’ for uranium. Mann, however, was in no mood to concede. He dared MPs to come to Punjab and see for themselves. He had the final word when he asked BJP MPs to send Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab. “Modiji ko bhej do. Hum unhe uranium de denge, jo wo Canada se lane gaye the (Send Modiji to Punjab. We will give him the uranium for which he had gone to Canada),” he quipped.

Fresh strategy
Rather than indulging in self-praise, on the first anniversary, the government wants the people to speak for it. Top bureaucrats of the government met on Wednesday to decide how to observe the first year in office. I&B Secretary Bimal Julka made a presentation to Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Misra. Julka is learnt to have suggested that it would be better for the government to avoid extravagant functions or events. Instead, he said, the beneficiaries of government’s initiatives should be encouraged to talk about how their lives have improved. The others at the meeting are learnt to have agreed.

Building bridges
Small political bridges were being made in the Lok Sabha when the House was discussing demands for grants for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge got up from his seat and walked up a few rows back to sit with Trinamool Congress’s Saugata Roy. Even as they engaged in some meaningful conversation, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi also crossed a bridge and made her way to the other side of the House to join BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy.

The right noise
The hearing on the validity of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) on Tuesday involved some profound exchanges between the bar and the bench. Senior advocate Harish Salve expressed his apprehension that Supreme Court judges were avoiding hearing certain cases since they had perhaps become hyper-sensitive to the noise outside. Justice Kurian Joseph, who is part of the five-judge bench, replied: “Sometime the noise inside is worse than the noise outside and so we also need to decide which one to listen.”

special staff
Employees of the central PSUs posted in Jammu and Kashmir have just received a five-time hike in their special transport allowance for travel within the city of residence. This is in addition to the normal transport allowance given to their colleagues in other parts of the country. Their mess allowance has been increased by almost six times. Till now, their daily transport allowance was a princely sum of Rs 10 while the mess allowance per day was Rs 15. These allowances are part of the special “package of concessions” that central PSU staffers are entitled to by virtue of their posting in the state.

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