BOOK WORM

As a photograph depicting him reading a voluminous book in the course of his US visit shows,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

As a photograph depicting him reading a voluminous book in the course of his US visit shows,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,unlike a run-of the-mill politician,is a voracious reader of books. However,a little-known fact about his reading habits is that he generally starts reading three books at a given time and keeps switching from one to another,depending upon his mood.

Night Watch

Call it the chewing gum effect on the ruling party. Congress treasurer Motilal Vora has asked senior office-bearers of the party to avoid holding meetings after 7 pm. The explanation given was that it was difficult to keep a watch on the activities of visitors late in the evening. While many in what is called a nocturnal party have had to change their daily schedule,Oscar Fernandes appears to be the most affected. Known to give appointments to people around midnight,Fernandes has been forced to shift his schedule.

Chinese Checkers

During her recent visit to Delhi,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wanted to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. She was told that Mukherjee was on a visit to the United States. She then asked her aides to get her an appointment with Home Minister P Chidambaram,only to be told that he too was abroad,on a visit to France and Russia. Banerjee is said to have remarked in jest,What is this? Everyone has gone out. I too must go abroad. I think I will go to China.

Party Games

The guessing game is on regarding which parties will attend the all-party meeting on Sunday,called to discuss the contours of the proposed Lokpal Bill. The BJP has expressed its displeasure at the government not consulting political parties earlier. Now,the CPI is also taking a similar line. Many in the CPI are of the view that the all-party meeting is just a ploy of the government to gauge the mood of other political parties without opening its own cards. The Samajwadi Party,however,has done a U-turn and decided to attend. The SP had been actively considering a boycott of the meeting earlier.

Baptism by Fire

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth is preparing to tackle the first crisis in his new job. With the postal employees threatening to go on an all-Indian indefinite strike from July 5,Seth on Friday called a meeting of officials from all ministries concerned. One of the major points of discussion at the meeting was how to ensure that wages of NREGA workers are not affected. More than two-thirds of the NREGA payments are made through the postal network.