A Ramlila revolution

If Ramdev has been talking revolution,crowds at Ramlila Maidan are more than happy following him.

If Ramdev has been talking revolution,crowds at Ramlila Maidan are more than happy following him. Volunteers are having a tough time keeping people out of restricted areas like VIP and media enclosures. The reason: Ramdevs followers have decided to apply the sermons in equality and democratic principles right there and are questioning the barriers inside the venue. My rights are the same as their rights so I should be allowed inside too, they say.

All the Presidents men

Call it spring cleaning or musical chairs,but the flow of officers from the Finance Ministry to Rashtrapati Bhavan continues. The latest to join the Presidents secretariat is Thomas Mathew,a joint secretary-level officer,who has worked with Pranab Mukherjee from the time he was in the Defence Ministry. Mathew is now set to replace Barun Mitra in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Modi spreads Net

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is pressing ahead with his image-building exercise. After his interview to an Urdu weekly that set off a row,Modi is planning a live chat on Google Hangout on August 31. The chat will be shown on YouTube and is being advertised through Googles advertising services. It remains to be seen how his competitors within the BJP and the NDA react to this. Incidentally,during a surprising interaction with foreign correspondents Thursday,RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat appeared to rate Bihars performance ahead of Gujarat when asked which state governments were role models of good governance.

House strength

The selection of CRPF personnel for the first batch of Parliament Duty Group PDG a new dedicated force for the security of Parliament has begun. Ajay Vashisth,a senior commandant with the CRPF,has been picked to head the force which will eventually have a strength of 1,540 personnel,all drawn from the CRPF. The PDG will take over the entire security inside Parliament,including armed duty. It will also be in action when Parliament is not in session.

Getting the right frame

While Rashtrapati Bhavan may have got its new occupant,government offices are yet to register the change. Former president Pratibha Patils photo still adorns the walls of almost every ministers office as a suitable photograph of Pranab Mukherjee is yet to arrive. The anomaly of having an ex-presidents framed picture,however,has not been lost at least in some quarters. Staff in at least two ministers offices is removing Patils photo in anticipation of the arrival of Mukherjees.

Cant delete voters on basis of religion

NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Supreme Court it is committed to weed out illegal migrants from Assam but it was not possible to right away delete 40 lakh doubtful voters on the basis of religious or linguistic profile.

Story continues below this ad

The Centres response came while dismissing the allegation of NGO Assam Public Works that over 40 lakh illegal migrants from Bangladesh had got their names entered into the electoral rolls and they should forthwith be deported.