Organisers of Samarth, a function organised by the department of disability affairs under Kumari Selja, were in for some uncomfortable moments on Wednesday when Shailendra Singh, a visually-challenged boy from a hostel in Selja’s constituency Ambala, took a break from reciting his poetry to complain to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi — seated in the audience — about Haryana Chief Minister B S Hooda. Hooda, he said, had promised him a job at a function in the past but his promise remained caught in bureaucratic red tape. Though officials were in a tizzy, Selja, given her equations with Hooda, had reasons to be calm and attentive to what Singh was saying. GIVING IT A MISS The absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Army Chief’s ‘at home’ function on Wednesday had many tongues wagging. Singh had never in the past missed the at home function of any armed force’s chief whenever he was in town. The explanation being given is that the PM had a bad cold and therefore, skipped the outdoor function, as advised by the doctors. Singh, however, attended other meetings through the day, which were held indoors. RETIRED HURT Former home secretary R K Singh is upset with the government over many things but the grapevine has it that it was his inability to retain the plush five-bedroom house at New Moti Bagh that rubbed salt on his wounds. He wanted to follow the footsteps of former CBI director A P Singh, who had managed to retain the 22, Tughlak Crescent bungalow after retirement. Six months before he retired, R K Singh made a request to the government to shift out of the accommodation earmarked for the home secretary at New Moti Bagh officers’ complex and be accommodated in Lutyens’ Delhi, citing proximity to his office. The government rejected the proposal. A month before his retirement, he made another request to the government, this time seeking to retain the house for another eight months. This request was also turned down and he was asked to vacate the bungalow within a month. It was after this that he shifted to C-II flat in the same complex, which he has to vacate by February end. NO SHOW The sudden advancing of the Cabinet meeting from evening to morning on Wednesday took many ministers by surprise. The time was changed late Tuesday night, forcing many ministers to skip the meeting. So much so that the meeting lasted all of 10 minutes and two items on the agenda could not be taken up as their concerned ministers — Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge — did not turn up. With Kharge absent, the fate of the long-pending Rail Tariff Authority that was to come up for discussion could not be decided. GIVING IT A MISSTHE absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Army Chief’s ‘at home’ function on Wednesday had many tongues wagging. Singh had never in the past missed the at home function of any armed force’s chief whenever he was in town. The explanation being given is that the PM had a bad cold and therefore, skipped the outdoor function, as advised by the doctors. Singh, however, attended other meetings through the day, which were held indoors.RETIRED HURTFORMER home secretary R K Singh is upset with the government over many things but the grapevine has it that it was his inability to retain the plush five-bedroom house at New Moti Bagh that rubbed salt on his wounds. He wanted to follow the footsteps of former CBI director A P Singh, who had managed to retain the 22, Tughlak Crescent bungalow after retirement. Six months before he retired, R K Singh made a request to the government to shift out of the accommodation earmarked for the home secretary at New Moti Bagh officers’ complex and be accommodated in Lutyens’ Delhi, citing proximity to his office. The government rejected the proposal. A month before his retirement, he made another request to the government, this time seeking to retain the house for another eight months. This request was also turned down and he was asked to vacate the bungalow within a month. It was after this that he shifted to C-II flat in the same complex, which he has to vacate by February end.NO SHOWTHE sudden advancing of the Cabinet meeting from evening to morning on Wednesday took many ministers by surprise. The time was changed late Tuesday night, forcing many ministers to skip the meeting. So much so that the meeting lasted all of 10 minutes and two items on the agenda could not be taken up as their concerned ministers — Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge — did not turn up. With Kharge absent, the fate of the long-pending Rail Tariff Authority that was to come up for discussion could not be decided.
