Educated Gaffe

With senior minister Kapil Sibal busy attending the prolonged Cabinet meeting that discussed the Lokpal Bill last week.

With senior minister Kapil Sibal busy attending the prolonged Cabinet meeting that discussed the Lokpal Bill last week,it fell on the two Ministers of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development,E Ahamed and D Purandeswari,to take care of a visiting Australian ministerial delegation that had come calling. While informing the Australian minister about the higher education system in India,Ahamed happened to tell him about Delhi University and Jawaharlal University. Then,inexplicably,he mentioned that there was a third university in Delhi,the Sri Ram College of Commerce,much to the embarrassment of the officials present in the meeting.

A Quiet Affair

The new office building for the Ministry of External Affairs,Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan,is still some distance away from completion the rooms of Ministers of State and the Foreign Secretary are among those that are yet to be ready. However,that did not deter the ministry from quietly inaugurating the building last week. A low profile function was held in the midst of a hectic week that was witness to Foreign Minister-level talks between India and Pakistan. Apparently,it was done specifically to avoid media attention. The grapevine has it that an incomplete office was inaugurated to ensure that the plaque at the building bore the name of the outgoing Foreign Secretary who retired on Sunday.

Rajasthan Rules

Mamata Sharma,the National Commission for Women NCWs newly appointed chairperson,is the third consecutive candidate from Rajasthan to occupy the post,raising eyebrows among women leaders of the Congress from other states. Sharmas immediate predecessor Yasmeen Abrar had become acting chairperson after Girija Vyas had demitted office. All three hail from Rajasthan. Sharma was said to owe the NCW post to the backing of Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi. Incidentally,her husband Kamlakar Sharma is considered close to former Rajasthan Cricket Association chief Lalit Modi and was also his counsel in the High Court.

Landing an Issue

With Rahul Gandhi hijacking his demand on repeal of old Land Acquisition Act,RLD leader Ajit Singh is now looking for other issues to supplement his demand of land acquisition to corner the Congress-led UPA government. In the meeting of leaders of all political parties called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar,Ajit Singh came down heavily against the government over delay in introducing the Land Acquisition Act,but added another related issue to corner the government. He enquired about the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill to regulate the unfettered real estate development that is jeopardising the interests of land owners as well as flat owners. He is likely to take up this issue during the Monsoon session of Parliament.

Accidental Delay

Being the smallest of the armed forces,the Navy does not see many court martial proceedings against officers,especially in the national capital. For the high profile court martial of the two senior most members of the Navy Adventure Sports wing,therefore,the Navy headquarters was hard pressed to scramble more than half a dozen Captains equivalent to an Army Colonel needed for the legal proceedings. However,all came to nothing as the court martial proceedings have been deferred by a month. The reason? One of the two adventure junkies who have been accused has suffered from a collar bone fracture.