A glucose tablet for a protesting colleague. The Opposition camaraderie was on full display in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday when AIADMK MP V Maitreyan walked to the Well of the House twice,first to offer a glass of water and then a glucose tablet to TDPs Y S Chowdary,just minutes after Chowdarys colleague C M Ramesh fainted and was taken to hospital. Chowdary stopped shouting slogans and sat in the well after Maitreyan got Leader of the Opposition and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs to appeal to him to call off his protest. A word of advice came from Deputy Chairman P J Kurien too. Take care of your throat, he was heard telling Chowdary,who was standing near the podium shouting slogans. Radio Ga Ga Taking off from the Bharat Nirman campaign in which one of the first advertisements was about a young girl,Priya,who goes on to own a factory thanks to the policies of the UPA government All India Radio has launched a 12-part radio series called Priya on the governments education,health and womens empowerment initiatives. The series,a brainchild of Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari,was aired on all AIR channels from Thursday. With elections due next year,the minister seems to be in the mood to utilise all resources at his disposal. Bogus bonus While defence public sector unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been at the receiving end of criticism for many years,a recent audit report has hit it where it hurts. In a stinging commentary,an audit report has pulled up HAL for handing out an incentive package to employees to the tune of almost Rs 26 crore for the success of an inaugural flight of the Light Combat Helicopter in 2010. Not only was the bonus package cleared without permission by the ministry,it was also given for a wrong reason the first flight of the chopper was 18 months behind time and the project is currently running four years behind schedule. Bitter taste Even as the Congress and JD(U) are cosying up to each other,the HRD ministry and the JD(U)-led Bihar government seem to be at loggerheads. The first salvo came from the HRD ministry,which said it had warned the Bihar government about the poor performance of the midday meal scheme in several districts,including the one where the recent tragedy occurred. The state government hit back,with its Education Minister P K Shahi writing to the HRD ministry complaining that the allocation to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme in the state has dipped from Rs 10,616 crore last year to Rs 5,846 crore this year. Responding to this,HRD Minister Pallam Raju pointed out that the dip is because the state is yet to furnish the required paperwork and details. Post-poll party The Trinamool Congresss victory in the West Bengal panchayat elections seems to have made it a sought-after party. During party general secretary Mukul Roys recent visit to Delhi,many political activists from various states like Rajasthan,Kerala,Uttar Pradesh and even Delhi turned up to meet him. All of them wanted to join the TMC with Mamata Banerjees blessings and set up the partys base in their states. Roy met everyone at his residence,gave them a patient hearing,but did not make any commitments. Some took away framed photographs of Mamata,which,they said,they would put up in their party offices. Roy just asked them to bring in supporters for the August 12 demonstration of central government employees in Delhi,which the TMC is supporting.
