Missing link

Though they broke ranks with the NDA to support UPA’s Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee,the leaders of both JD(U) and Shiv Sena stayed away from Mukherjee’s nomination filing event that was attended by almost all the Cabinet ministers,UPA chief ministers and leaders of UPA allies. But the most prominent and noticeable absentee from the UPA ranks was Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. The NCP supremo was away in Kuala Lumpur where he relinquished his position as chairman of the International Cricket Council.

Opposing Forces

ON Thursday,the Congress suspended the tribal leader from Chhattisgarh,Arvind Netam,from the party “with immediate effect” for supporting the Opposition’s Presidential nominee P A Sangma. In Rajasthan,however,it is having difficulty in keeping its flock together given that independent MP from Dausa Kirorilal Meena is canvassing for Sangma. Meena’s wife Golma Devi was recently dropped from the Ashok Gehlot Cabinet. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal recently tried to reach out to Meena but he refused to take the call. While Union minister C P Joshi is engaged in back channel talks in a bid to secure Meena’s support for Pranab Mukherjee,it is Gehlot whose political acumen is under test.

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Hardened Handler

26/11 Mumbai attack suspect Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal is giving a tough time to the investigators. During interrogations,Ansari starts with long speeches on religion — at times lasting for an hour. When questioned on the massacre at Chabad House in Mumbai on 26/11,he went on a discourse on Israeli “excesses against Palestine”. With a number of people coming to grill him,Ansari is also learnt to have told a senior police official that he was not aware that he was this important. The officials were heard discussing that thankfully he does not have access to newspapers or television otherwise his sense of importance would grow manifold.

Last word

HEARD in the corridors of power,from a bureaucrat holding a constitutional position: Just as women have menopause,bureaucrats nearing retirement go through ‘stenopause’.

Ex-AG Parasaran enters RS

NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil on Thursday nominated former attorney-general K Parasaran and noted educationist Mrinal Miri to the Rajya Sabha.

Parasaran was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2011. He had been the advocate-general of Tamil Nadu before he became solicitor-general of India and later the attorney-general.

Miri,a noted philosopher and educationist,had been the Director of the Institute of Advanced Study,Shimla,and later served as the Vice-Chancellor of the North Eastern Hill University.

Parasaran’s term will last six years. Miri’s term would,however,end on March 21,2016 because he has been nominated against the vacancy caused by the death of Ram Dayal Munda.