Cabinet reshuffle: here we go again

On another front, while Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj and HRD Minister Arjun Singh complete their Rajya Sabha terms next April, the PM is expected to retain only the former. Bharadwaj is believed to have a reformist agenda and has chipped in with 8216;8216;sound8217;8217; legal inputs. As for Arjun Singh, the HRD Ministry is said to have become highly politicised and a sinecure for Left-oriented academics. Despite his detoxification campaign, he is still warped in Left ideology and has not really addressed the issue of India having the largest 8216;8216;employable population8217;8217; among youth. But whether he will be removed or given an 8216;8216;able8217;8217; Minister of State will depend on 10, Janpath.

A high-profile holiday in Mauritius

With the reshuffle stuck till Makar Sankranti January 14, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will celebrate New Year in Mauritius. Her visit details are still under wraps, but Sonia will fly to Port Louis on December 288212;along with her mother, elder sister and, of course, Rahul and Priyanka. They are expected to be back by January 2 after which the reshuffle exercise will start.

Now, a reel role for Amar Singh

Trust Amar Singh to carve out a role for himself. This time, for reel. Roped in by filmstar-turned-producer-turned-MP Dharmendra for his new film, Apne, Amar Singh attended the first shoot in Chandigarh recently. With Dharmendra at the helm, no prizes for guessing who the lead stars are8212;his sons, Sunny, Abhay and Bobby.

House sting: did big fish escape?

Not all in the government and Congress are happy at the expulsion of 11 MPs, including six from the BJP, following the cash-for-questions sting. The buzz is Home Minister Shivraj Patil was particularly against the MPs being expelled without any legal recourse. Patil wanted the MPs to be suspended first, pending inquiry. Why? It seems the IB has informed that other politicians were also caught in the sting. And their names will be revealed later. The big question: if big fish really do figure in the net, will the same alacrity be shown in expelling them?

Why India is hot in Stockholm

Attending the Nobel ceremony in Sweden, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal discovered that India was quite in demand among prize-winners. Israeli economist Robert Aumann, who shared the Economics prize, wanted to visit India for his honeymoon. The 75-year-old Professor of Hebrew University in Jerusalem had married the sister of his deceased wife Esther, a week before the Stockholm ceremony. CalTech Professor Robert Grubbs, who bagged the Chemistry prize, had similar plans that got stuck in North Block red tape. On his return, Sibal ensured that the government got in touch with Aumann and Grubbs8212;they may soon be here.

Not active, but Surjeet in demand

Visits by two important politicians last week showed that CPIM veteran Harkishan Singh Surjeet is still a politician in demand. Even if indifferent health has kept him from active politics. Last weekend, Surjeet met a Samajwadi Party heavyweight who reportedly wanted him to get the Congress to ease up on the UP government. The second visit was from a top PDP leader who wanted an all-party meeting to discuss the Valley situation. The CPIM leader may or may not have given them any assurance, but is known for helping his friends.

Dilip to Deshmukh: save my land

Out of sight, out of mind. That8217;s what septuagenarian actor Dilip Kumar has realised after ruling Indian hearts for nearly four decades. His land in Pune8217;s Kurvande village is being acquired by GAIL India Ltd to lay a pipeline from Dahival to Pune. The state-run gas utility is going an extra two miles to avoid Defence land8212;INS Shivaji Lonavala. The actor then made a passionate plea to Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, asking him to request the Defence Ministry to let the pipeline through defence wasteland instead. Deshmukh has forwarded the letter to the Petroleum Ministry.

Mani runs out of budget

It seems globe-trotter Mani Shankar Aiyar has run out of gas. His Petroleum Ministry does not have the money to fund his oil and gas hunt abroad. The ministry exhausted the Rs 26 lakh provided for foreign travel in 2005-06 in the first six months itself, with two bills worth Rs 8.23 lakh pending. In November, the ministry approached the Department of Expenditure for an additional Rs 34 lakh so that Aiyar could pursue 8216;8216;energy security through global initiatives, including frequent visits in connection with transnational gas pipelines8217;8217;. Another reason for seeking more money was the pact with Brazil for blending ethanol with petrol. Given Aiyar8217;s penchant for travelling, the Ministry has sought Rs 75 lakh for 2006-07. With that kind of budget, it could well afford to operate from abroad next year.

Right to information, of the wrong kind

This could ruffle feathers in this age of right to information. The website of the Clean Development Mechanism CDM, a designated national authority under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has a search facility that allows you to look for projects in states. Seems simple enough. The only problem is when you choose any state or project, the website opens up to http://www.sexparan.com, a Korean portal with photographs and links inviting you to join up and have fun. So the next time you need to find renewable energy projects in Himachal Pradesh, or solid waste facilities in Punjab, you know what you will get.

Tailpiece

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD Commissioner, now demolition man, Ashok Kumar, added Nigam to his name to distinguish himself from two namesakes who served the Corporation8212;they were arrested on corruption charges.