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Invoking Mahatma

Father of the Nation wanted disbanding of the Congress in his public rallies has got party leaders using this to spread the message.

Narendra Modis assertion that the Father of the Nation wanted disbanding of the Congress in his public rallies has got party leaders using this to spread the message. Former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu had an interesting take on Monday during a function to launch a saffron Parivar think-tank. Accusing the Congress of having used the original Congresss independence movement role to its advantage in elections over the years,Naidu claimed that todays Congress is more akin to the pre-Independence Muslim League. The BJP,he said,represents the nationalist zeal of original Congress. To buttress his argument,Naidu claimed that the spirit and ethos of Madan Mohan Malviya,G K Gokhale,Bal Gangadhar Tilak,Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel have been echoed by BJP stalwarts over the years.

Peace on track

Sibce the beginning of the year,the Congress-affiliated trade union in Railways,National Federation for Indian Railwaymen,has been threatening to go on a full fledged strike if their demands were not met. Even though the Railway Ministry never took the threats seriously,the federation was bent on getting its demands acknowledged. It was supposed to hold a strike ballot in November wherein all its members were to vote on the question of whether or not to strike. Now,owing to the government announcing the formation of the Seventh Pay Commission,one of the chief demands,and the ministry giving assurances about some of the other demands,the federation has decided to not hold the strike ballot in November. The largest union,the All-Indian Railwaymens Federation,however,is yet to follow suit,but the dispensation in the ministry is certain that come what may,a strike in the Railways is not going to happen.

Boook diplomacy

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Expternal Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid,whose book Sons of Babur was staged a couple of years ago in the Capital is now going places. Khurshid,who meets foreign ministers across the globe,has taken to promoting his book. On Monday,as he met Philippines foreign minister Albert F Del Rosario in Manila,he gifted his book to him. The buzz in South Block is that his book might now form a part of the inventory of gifts which is given to foreign dignitaries in the near future.

Image makeover

The Ministry of Home Affairs is undergoing an image makeover and recently launched its new website. While introducing quick links to its departments,the ministry has now showcased its various schemes. In charge of all internal security related matters,the Home Ministry has also dedicated a separate corner for safer India linking it to Delhi Police homepage. Apart from safeguarding from any cyber attacks,the new website through visual also showcases the schemes of the UPA government.

First published on: 22-10-2013 at 01:01 IST