Delhi confidential: Namo Turns Mayavati
Even BJP leaders were left wondering how Prime Minister Modi could be compared to Trump in reference to the UP campaign.
Subramanian Swamy
An unusual ‘tweet’ caught nearly 4 million ‘followers’ of Subramanian Swamy on Twitter by surprise on Wednesday. “In UP, I think Mayavati (sic) will pull off a Donald Trump,” the BJP leader tweeted. As people wondered about the import of his statement, Swamy moved on to other subjects. A few hours later came the correction, which sounded even more intriguing: “In my tweet on UP elections I had intended to say Namo (Narendra Modi). Instead by oversight I said Mayavati. Error is regretted.” Even BJP leaders were left wondering how Prime Minister Modi could be compared to Trump in reference to the UP campaign.
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Swachh Mantri
At the Swachh Bharat Pakhwara (cleanliness drive) in Nirman Bhawan on Wednesday, while some officers came with glass cleaners, etc, several women officers said, in jest, that they should be given fluorescent brooms to go with their silk saris. But Health Minister J P Nadda’s eye for detail surprised the staff, as he insisted that even brackets that hold up electricity cables be cleaned. Nadda is known to be obsessed about cleanliness – so much so that he keeps a cloth under the table in the office he maintains at his residence. The piece of cloth is meant to wipe off hand prints of guests who lean on the glass tabletop.
Lacking Lucky Charm
The fate of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and new party general secretary Sasikala in the 1996 disproportionate assets case seemed to be linked to the presence of a senior lawyer, who is now a judge in Supreme Court. After the duo’s conviction by the Bengaluru trial court in September 2014, L Nageswara Rao, then a senior advocate, had joined Jayalalithaa’s legal team and argued for her in High Court. The High Court acquitted them. When the appeal came up in Supreme Court, Rao argued for Jayalalithaa until April 2016, but had to leave the case midway since his elevation as a judge in the apex court was in the offing. Rao was appointed a judge in May 2016, and was, of course, no more on their side when the apex court convicted Sasikaka on Tuesday.
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Charge At Large
The NDA government has created a record of sorts by issuing showcause notices to eight vice-chancellors of central universities on charges of financial and administrative irregularities. Besides former Delhi University V-C Dinesh Singh, against whom the ministry could not prove its charges, it seems the government is set to drop its case against another V-C. Allahabad University head R L Hangloo is learnt to have furnished a convincing defence to the allegations against him. The government is unlikely to recommend his sacking.
Flexi Fare Unfair?
The Railways is facing a googly from a leader who was one of its own until a few years ago. Former minister of state Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has given a notice for discussion under Rule 184 of Lok Sabha, which says that the flexi-fare system is an unfair use of the Railways’ dominant position in market, and that it violates the Competition Act. Officials are preparing a reply.
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