Mahajan146;s destiny

The CPIM8217;s Sitaram Yechury captured a bit of media space last week when the reinstated Nepalese Parliament sat for its first session in four years. If the other communist party, the CPI, had had its way, Yechury might not have hogged as much of the limelight. Before Yechury and the NCP8217;s D P Tripathy landed in Kathmandu, the CPI leadership had called Madhav Nepal of the CPNUML suggesting that their party representative also be invited. A perfect gentleman, Nepal was not averse to the idea. This was how the CPI8217;s Atul Anjan reached the Nepalese capital a day ahead of Yechury and Tripathy. He attended the inaugural session of the Nepalese Parliament but didn8217;t stay long in Kathmandu. He found the seven-party alliance leaders were by then busy discussing crucial issues with Yechury in which Anjan had no part. Incidentally, the CPI leader active in the peace process was D. Raja. But for some reason, the CPI leadership chose not to send him to the Nepalese capital.

Rise of the panelist

If membership of cabinet committees is an indicator of clout, then A R Antulay is truly on the rise. The Minority Affairs minister may not even have office space yet, but he is now in the Cabinet Committee on Prices, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities, following the overhaul of the panels last month. However, neither he nor anyone else from his community made it to the powerful Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. The biggest loser in the reshuffle appears to be Mani Shankar Aiyar, who will now only be in the Cabinet Committee on Tribal Affairs.

Minor power play

Just the other day, Viswapati Trivedi flew to Jaipur on a Jet Airways flight. Was the Indian Airlines chief checking out the in-flight service of a rival airline or was it because his own company could not get its flight off the ground on time? Whatever the answer, Trivedi is serious about how the airlines is functioning. For one, he has taken away the prerogative of his directors to give free upgrades, irritating bureaucrats and government officials. It8217;s almost as if he was saying, if you want an upgrade, say 8216;8216;please8217;8217; to the boss. The other way to look at it is, of course, that there were just too many freebies being doled out. In Indian Airlines, even sponsorships and advertisements require the highest approvals. Well, with up to nine aircraft grounded for want of spares, the airline head may equally have been avoiding unwanted troubles over favours.

Pulling the strings

In the war of the services, the Indian Administrative Service lobby has scored one more win over its revenue cousins. In the garb of championing meritocracy, it quietly got the President to notify a selection committee for shortlisting candidates for top posts in the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Excise 038; Customs. Earlier, the CBDT and CBEC chairman and members were selected from among the seniormost officers by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Now, a panel headed by the Cabinet Secretary and comprising the principal secretary to the PM, the home secretary, personnel secretary and the revenue secretary will prepare a list of possible candidates from chief commissioners and above to send to the ACC. With more in the fray, candidates would have no option but to dance to the panel8217;s tune.

Follow the leader

Hook your wagon to a falling star? Ever since his mentor Mani Shankar Aiyar had his wings clipped at the Centre, former Additional Secretary International Coordination Talmiz Ahmed has been in constant trouble. On April 28, the Screening Committee of Secretaries on April 28 handed the diplomat a memo written by Finance Secretary Adarsh Kishore conveying 8216;8216;the displeasure of the Cabinet Secretary8217;8217; for his travelling to Nigeria without the government8217;s approval. 8216;8216;Your understanding of the Screening Committee8217;s approval as being 8217;a routine process8217; has also been noted with concern,8217;8217; says the memo. It was issued almost a month after Ahmad was shifted out of the Petroleum Ministry to head the Indian Council of World Affairs and six months after he undertook the trip to Nigeria in 8216;8216;flagrant violation of rules8217;8217;.

South Block cobwebs

On Friday morning, Anand Sharma, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, landed up early and did a surprise walkabout of South Block. Credited with having earlier spruced up Parliament House and its Annexe, the minister8217;s predilection for cleanliness was again on show. The cobwebs adorning the grand staircase irked him no end and he ordered an instant cleaning up of the complex where foreign guests are hosted every day. With joint secretary in-charge of establishment in tow, he told the CPWD to get its act together else he would outsource the upkeep and maintenance of South Block to a private agency, something he claims to have done at Parliament Annexe too. How one wishes this marked the first step in removing the cobwebs from the minds of some senior diplomats as well.

Career vastu

BJP general secretary Sanjay Joshi has decided to shift from his more convenient, but 8216;8216;jinxed8217;8217; room to the one he had vacated a long time ago in the backyard of the BJP headquarters. The reason: he feels the recent bad patch in his career is linked to his new accommodation. Only that Joshi8217;s old room has already been allotted to fellow pracharak Saudan Singh. But who minds the inconvenience of sharing a room if the new arrangement wards off evil?

Going for broke

Raj Babbar, who is travelling across Uttar Pradesh discrediting former party bosses Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, has come up with a new way to score points. Towards the end of his speeches, he quizzes the audience about national emblems. What is the national animal, what is the national language, what is the national anthem8212;the answers, however, are not important. The last question is. 8216;8216;Who is the desiya dalal national broker?8217;8217; he asks. A no-brainer for anyone who hears the actor8217;s speeches.

Protest vs protest

Medical students who were rallying against quotas in higher institutions swept the surroundings of India Gate last week, implying they would end up doing work like this if more seats were reserved for the depressed classes. It was meant to be a sarcastic jab at the government. But a Dalit organisation has now filed an FIR with the Tilak Marg police station under the SC/ST8217;s Atrocities Act against the students8212;for belittling the job of sweepers. The police are unsure of how to handle this.