Getting the message

Despite the ban on bulk SMSes,some unsolicited SMS advertisements are managing to pass through the filter.

Despite the ban on bulk SMSes,some unsolicited SMS advertisements are managing to pass through the filter. The other day,Ahmed Patel,political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi,ran into Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal at a party and complained that he was still getting irritating SMSes. Sibal promptly responded by saying that he was trying to find ways to end the troublesome messages. On the other hand,however,another Congress leader complained to Sibal that the party was not able to reach out to journalists through SASes despite an increase on single-day SMS limit from 100 to 200 per mobile phone. Sibal quickly answered that he would exempt political parties from the SMS ceiling. In fact,he went on to say that the government was contemplating giving such exemptions to corporates with large employee base so that they could reach out to their workers through SMS.

Red Alert

In a change of stance,former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in all likelihood would attend the next Politburo and Central Committee meeting of the CPM. No,he has neither forgotten his differences with the party bosses at the AKG Bhawan nor has he announced a truce. The CPM has decided to hold its next Central Committee meeting crucial since it will finalise the much-talked about ideological document and deliberate on the political-organisational report to be presented at the party congress to be held in April at Kolkata. All earlier attempts to make Buddhadeb attend party meetings in Delhi had come to a nought. For the record,his health condition does not permit him to travel to Delhi. Now,the party leaders hope he will have no excuse but to show up at the next meet.

Krishnas Tune

A scheduling hitch is likely to take some if the sheen away from what was to be External Affairs Minister S M Krishnas show. India is hosting the conference of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation in Bangalore,the ministers hometown,on November 14 and 15. Sandwiched between the more high-profile SAARC and ASEAN meetings,the conference is finding it difficult to attract top-level participation from member countries. Only seven of the 18 members have decided to send their Foreign Ministers. The rest would be represented by lower level delegates. The MEA,in the meanwhile,is said to be working overtime to make it a grand affair. A lot of side-shows and cultural events are planned for the guests to give them a glimpse of the history and culture of Bangalore.

Adding Clout

With its proposal to set up a new Corps headquarters in the Northeast being stuck in the Finance Ministry for months,the Army has now sought the support of the National Security Adviser. The Army is learnt to have conveyed to the NSA the pressing need to augment its presence in the Northeast. It has also underlined the fact that it would take at least two years to raise a new corps once all the clearances are given. The Army is hoping that by adding NSAs weight to its proposal,it would be able to obtain the finance clearance soon.