Mission Polio

WHILE the angry outburst of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over transfer of some officials in his state was understandable,considering that he belongs to the opposition BJP,the Home Ministry was taken aback by the tone and tenor of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who raised the same issue with equal force. Her opposition was all the more surprising since it came several weeks after the transfers had been made and many of the transferred officers had already taken up their new assignments. It was then discovered that transfer orders of another set of Delhi government officials were ready,awaiting the approval of the Home Ministry. Dikshits anger,some Home Ministry officials reasoned,could be a pre-emptive attempt at stopping the transfers of these officials.

Keeping off Vaastu

THE HRD Ministry has kick-started its ambitious new vocational education programme and UGC has decided that these courses should be introduced in at least 100 institutions. There is one caveat though. While institutions will be free to devise their own vocational courses,Vaastu courses,it is learnt,are a complete no-no. Unimpressed with the huge rush for Vaastu courses,the UGC has gone so far as to take a decision that no Vaastu courses may be supported under this scheme. It brings back memories of the UPA-I de-saffronisation campaign when astrology was introduced as a course by the NDA government in colleges and universities.