A New Environment

New Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan surprised many by walking in for the Cabinet meeting.

A New Environment

New Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan surprised many by walking in for the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. As Minister of State for Independent Charge,Natarajan is expected to attend Cabinet meetings only when a matter related to her ministry is part of the agenda. In this case,her ministrys matter was listed only in the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure CCI,which meets after the meetings of the full Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs are over. By convention,Natarajan was expected to attend only the CCI meeting but sat through all the three meetings instead. In the process,she missed a public event she was scheduled to attend.

SUSPENSE DRAMA

THE suspense over his resignation may be over but B S Yeddyurappa is still keeping everyone guessing,including his party leaders in Delhi. His request to the leadership that he be allowed to continue in office till July 31 has left the BJP high command on tenterhooks. They are finding it difficult to figure out what he intends to do in the intervening period,whether its is to conduct some religious rites or is it just that he considers it an auspicious day. On the face of it,Yeddyurappas parting wish is no big deal and there should be no problem granting it,but central leaders still cant figure out what he might do by then. The suspense is clearly not over yet.

MY FRUGAL LORD

SENIOR advocate Raju Ramachandran was appreciated for his frugality during his stay in Ahmedabad while conducting a probe into the Gulberg Society massacre case,part of the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases the Supreme Court is monitoring. The court took favourable note of the fact that the lawyer bore his own travel expenses and stayed at a mess instead of a five-star hotel as it seems is the practice with most other lawyers on similar assignment. Though Ramachandran generously dismissed it as a small matter,the court insisted that he be reimbursed in full. Some lawyers were,however,heard saying in undertones that the facilities at the IPS Officers mess in Ahmedabad was as good as any five-star hotel. Some of them even claimed to have actually stayed there.

MAKING A POINT

THE talking points prepared

for External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for his meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had one point towards the end politely express Indias displeasure over her meeting with Hurriyat leaders. Krishna is learnt to have taken it quite seriously and dwelt on the subject at length during the meeting,something which caught the Pakistani side totally unprepared.