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Journalism of Courage
Faint Hope
As Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni sat studying some papers to prepare herself for questions in the Rajya Sabha just before it was to resume,a senior BJP leader walked up to her to say that there was no need for her to make such extensive preparations since the proceedings would not be allowed to continue in any case. He said the ministers could relax till Friday as the BJP was unlikely to let the House function in its demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister. While the comments meant that another session,and possibly another days functioning on Friday,was going to be disrupted,it also offered hope to the government that the BJP would relent next week and allow Parliament to function normally.
Legend Remembered
The Customs fraternity had a gathering of their whos who at a prayer meeting of one of their legendary officials,Daya Shankar,who passed away recently. Shankar had earned fame for taking on Dawood Ibrahim. As a Customs officer,he had taken the anti-smuggling fight right into the den of the Mumbai underworld in the 1980s. A 1978 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service Customs amp; Central Excise,his campaign against gold smugglers along the western coast in Mumbai,Goa and Gujarat was widely praised at the prayer meeting. Amidst increasing scrutiny of the integrity of Customs staff,senior officials and friends had a word or two about drawing inspiration from Daya Shankars example for the new generation of officers.
Threat Perception
It is not everyday that the Prime Minister receives such a petition from an MP. CPM MP from West Bengal Bansa Gopal Chowdhury has written to the PM seeking his intervention to save his sons life. The Asansol MP says that there is a threat to the life of his son,a class XII student,from the Trinamool Congress. He claims armed hooligans enjoying Trinamool patronage had last week questioned the driver of the vehicle,which carries his son to school,about his movements and also threatened him of dire consequences.
Surprise Presence
The Cabinet meeting on Thursday had two surprise attendees Railway Minister Mukul Roy and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri. The two ministers rarely attend Cabinet meetings,away as they are most of the time in Kolkata and Chennai respectively. While reading out from a prepared text,Roy,at one point,referred to his party leader Mamata Banerjee and the Ministry of Railways in the same vein,before realising that Banerjee was now the Chief Minister of West Bengal. When his time came to speak,Alagiri requested that his ministrys Secretary be asked to explain the stand on the pricing of ethanol for blending in petrol.
Dark Humour
Amidst all the current political bickering,some people have,thankfully,not lost their sense of humour. After the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the umpteenth time this week,Leader of the House and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde walked over to the Opposition benches to have a word with Sushma Swaraj. The Leader of the Opposition requested Shinde to have a seat so that they could talk comfortably. But seeing that all the seats around her were occupied,Shinde said he was okay standing. But Sushma promptly got a seat vacated,while remarking: Please sit here,who knows after the next election you will need to sit on this side anyways.
