Helping hand

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,currently facing a tough time politically,has sought the help of Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in getting a breather.

Helping hand

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,currently facing a tough time politically,has sought the help of Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in getting a breather. He is learnt to have requested that the re-launch of the National Rural Livelihood Mission,which Deshmukhs ministry is planning,should start from Rajasthan. Deshmukh was planning to re-launch it from Maharashtra but is now believed to have acceded to Gehlots request. The re-launch function would give Gehlot the opportunity to share the limelight with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and,hopefully,keep his detractors quiet for some time. Deshmukh is said to have requested Sonia Gandhi to give them a suitable date for the re-launch.

BUSINESS OVER SECURITY

Washington still hasnt got over the disappointment over both American fighters competing in the Indian Air Forces mega purchase of combat aircraft having been eliminated due to technical reasons. A meeting on Thursday between a top visiting US official and Defence Minister A K Antony on security matters focused more on the deal than on bilateral security interests. It is learnt that the US raised the disqualification of its aircraft at the meeting between US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Antony. While Napolitano stuck to the brief,outgoing US Ambassador Timothy Roemer is learnt to have spoken at length on the contract and conveyed to the Indian side that Washington was not convinced that its aircraft are not technically sound. The US is also said to be peeved by the manner in which it was told about the disqualification. In fact,the US has been vocal on the issue for quite some time now,so much so that the Ministry of External Affairs has also pushed for a technical briefing with the two losing US companies.

BELATED AWAKENING

Facing considerable flak for the blunder on the most wanted list handed over to Pakistan,the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI is now trying to set its house in order. As a first step it has moved N S Kharayat,a well-regarded officer,from its anti-corruption wing to the Interpol division. Kharayat,who is described as a trouble-shooter inside the CBI,has handled CWG and 2G cases and is known to be highly efficient officer. He is said to have been brought into the Interpol desk due to his organising skills and experience in the Special Task Force,which handled most of the terror and underworld cases including the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts.

TURNING THE TABLES

NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that the Delhi High Court had stayed the release and circulation of his book,Close Encounters with Niira Radia,advocate R K Anand on Thursday went ahead with a scheduled discussion on the book. More than Radia,though,the audience seemed interested in discussing the controversies surrounding Anand in the BMW hit and run case. The lawyer tried to side-step the issue by saying that he would let Radiia write a book on him on that case. After his joke failed to impress the audience,he said he himself would write that book and name it Me and BMW.

TAILPIECE

Senior Congress strategists are refusing to attach too much importance to the recent statements from out-of-circulation leaders like Vasant Sathe and C K Jaffer Sharief,both of whom urged Priyanka Vadra to join politics,or R K Dhawans advice to Rahul Gandhi regarding selection of his close aides. Havent you seen calling attention motions in Parliament, quipped a senior Congress leader.