Extended Address

It is indeed tough at the top,shouldering the responsibilities of being largely a ceremonial head of state

It is indeed tough at the top,shouldering the responsibilities of being largely a ceremonial head of state. At 78,President Pratibha Patil,according to sources,would be required to read an address spanning over some100 paragraphs at the beginning of the budget session of Parliament on Monday. The length of the address this time is far more than the 67 paragraphs last year and the 74 paragraphs in 2010. Perhaps,smarting under fresh electoral reverses,the UPA government is gearing up to dwell on its promises and achievements in greater detail. Perhaps,some believe,it may lift the mood in the ruling Congress party.

Healthy Coverage

The Universal Health Coverage plan is still to be rolled out but it seems to be already generating some buzz internationally. The dean of Harvard School of Public Health HSPH Julio Frenk who also happens to be a former health minister of Mexico is all set to chair a discussion among various UHC stakeholders in Delhi this week. Frenk,who is an authority on public health,reportedly was keen to discuss the UHC concept in India and HSPH is organising the meet. Also on Frenks itinerary is a meeting with Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday.

Rajya Sabha Googly

After its landslide victory in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections,the Samajwadi Party is all set to increase its strength in the Rajya Sabha. Ten seats from Uttar Pradesh are up for grabs and the Samajwadi Party is in a position to easily secure six of them. Naturally,the contenders,including new entrants to the party like Naresh Agarwal and Anuradha Chaudhary,have got busy lobbying with the top party leadership. One person who the party is apparently keen to send to Rajya Sabha actually comes from West Bengal and not Uttar Pradesh. Kiranmoy Nanda,a long-serving minister for fisheries in the Communist governments in West Bengal,had lost his election to the state assembly during the Trinamool wave last year. In 2010,he had hosted the Samajwadi Partys national executive meet in Kolkata,soon after Amar Singhs exit from the party. The Samajwadi Party thinks it is now time to return the favour.

Budget Constraints

This should put an end to speculation on whether West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is contemplating breaking away from the UPA coalition at the Centre. Banerjees trusted bureaucrat Gautam Sanyal has been in Delhi for the last few days,engaging top officials in New Delhi on a variety of issues concerning his state. On the top of his agenda is a financial package that the state has been demanding for a long time now. The state government is hoping to see some of its demands getting reflected in the budget. During his stay in Delhi,Sanyal is learnt to have met officials of the PMO as well.

Holiday Time

Its holiday time in Enforcement Directorate. Many of top officials probing multi-crore scams like 2G,CWG,Jagan case etc are on long leave. Besides,two of the deputy directors,Rajeshwar Singh and Sharad Chaudhary,are still awaiting orders for taking charge in ED. While Singh is on deputation from UP police,Chaudhary is from CISF. Recently,the ED director Arun Mathur retired from the top job and agency is awaiting his successor. No wonder,work has gone really slow in the organisation.