PROTOCOL SHIFT Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first engagement at the Hyderabad House took place last week, when Australian PM Tony Abbott came. Modi rewrote the rules of protocol as he and Abbott stood up and shook hands each time an agreement was signed — a marked departure from the earlier regime when the PM and the visiting dignitary would just clap while sitting. The fact that Modi stood up left the Cabinet ministers — Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal — in a visible fix on whether they too should stand up. At the end of their respective press statements, the two PMs waited till both delegations moved out of the ball room and shook hands again for a good photo-op. This was also a departure from earlier protocol when the PMs would be the first to move out of the room, followed by the ministers and officials. FIRM BUT POLITE It is not common for any ministry to say no to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the Railways has done just that albeit in a polite way. Asked to explore the feasibility of railway base kitchens cooking for midday meals and jails, the Railways has humbly stated that since these kitchens operate on completely different parameters and objectives, the idea is not feasible. But before saying this, it had a meeting with the HRD Ministry to see if it could be done. THE OTHER PURSUIT Former Union minister Kapil Sibal seems to be keeping himself busy with multiple things since his government was voted out of power earlier this year. Not only is he busy with his legal practice, he is also able to find time to promote his other interest — writing lyrics. The music album, for which Sibal has penned the lyrics, is being released in Mumbai on September 30 and the former minister is all set to go for the high profile event. The music for the album has been composed by maestro A R Rahman. MUCH AWAITED The annual lecture of the National Commission for Minorities is set to be delivered this year by Fali S Nariman at Constitution Club on September 12. Nariman had recently announced his intention to take on the government in the matter of the Judicial Appointments Commission so there are high hopes of his speech being as interesting as the one delivered last year by the then Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who had likened the Narendra Modi wave to the artificial air generated by a cooler. SON SHINE Forthcoming Assembly elections would perhaps see another ‘son rise’ in the Congress. Senior leader and J&K Congress president Saifuddin Soz’s son Salman could be fielded by the party from Baramulla seat. An alumnus of St Stephen’s College, Delhi, Salman Anees Soz returned to the state a couple of years ago after spending many years abroad. He was with the World Bank for about 13 years. He has an MBA from Yale University and a Master’s in economics from Northeastern University in the US. Soz senior, a Rajya Sabha MP, would not be contesting.
