Live telecast

The RSS chief's customary speech addressing its members across the world on Vijaya Dashami day.

Public broadcaster Doordarshan looks all set to telecast live the annual Vijaya Dashami speech of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat which he’ll deliver at the organisation’s headquarters in Nagpur on Friday. The RSS chief’s customary speech addressing its members across the world on Vijaya Dashami day — the Hindu organisation was founded on Vijaya Dashami day in 1925 — has been webcast live on two websites since 2012. “We’re covering it. Arrangements have been put in place. We’ll wait for further instructions,” is all a senior Doordarshan official would say. An Information & Broadcasting Ministry official said the speech was likely be “covered extensively” through the day during the various news bulletins but may not be broadcast live.

The Exit

Following a brief period of uncertainty over whether he will continue in his post in the Election Commission of India, Indian Information Service officer Akshay Rout has finally relinquished his charge as Director General in the Commission. Rout, who completed a five-year deputation in EC, was hoping to get an extension because the EC was apparently keen to retain him till the forthcoming assembly polls in four states. He said to have even got a clearance from the Information & Broadcasting ministry, his parent ministry, to continue on deputation. However, the move was red-flagged by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet citing rules. Following this, the Chief Election Commissioner himself wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking an extension for Rout. That request too was turned down.

In demand

There has been an expected surge in train bookings in this festive season and the long weekend, and the Railway Ministry, not surprisingly, is flooded with requests from VIPs to get their waitlisted tickets confirmed. The sector most in demand seems to be Delhi-Jammu, with Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda having received around 200 requests from VIPs for the Rajdhani train running on this route. The number of quota seats for the ministry, against which the requests are adjusted, for that train on any given day is only 30. The minister’s staff is now left to decide which VIP the minister can afford to disappoint.

Upper hand

Word has gone around the Home Ministry that minister Rajnath Singh is more sympathetic towards IPS officers in comparison to the IAS officers. Singh has both an IAS officer and an IPS officer in his personal staff, but the talk is that he heeds the advice of the IPS officer more often. Incidentally, IPS officers are outnumbered by IAS officers in the ministry. There is talk that chiefs of paramilitary forces such as CRPF or BSF, all IPS officers, carry more weight in this government than in any before. The response to the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan was seen in this light, wherein BSF is said to have been given a free hand to shell the Pakistani posts in retaliatory fire.

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