Moily takes the bouquets

Trust Law Minister Veerappa Moily to tread where nobody dares.

Trust Law Minister Veerappa Moily to tread where nobody dares. After Anna Hazare and his fellow-travellers were through with their candlelight victory celebrations,Moily made the claim that it was he who wrote a letter to the Prime Minister to appeal to him to strike a deal with agitators. At a time when Congress members are unable to figure out why the government gave in so readily to Annas demands,here comes Moily to present himself as the man responsible for the surrender. If by doing so,Moily was trying to cover up the slips made by his ministry in handling Spectrum affairs,the only conclusion one can draw is that he has ended up exposing his naivety on another count.

Congress gets casteist

The Congress party seems to be so obsessed with caste that it has started remembering even freedom fighters by their caste affiliations. An in-house advertisement to observe the 81st Martyrdom Day in the latest issue of Congress Sandesh,the party mouthpiece,describes Bhagat Singh as a freedom fighter born to a Jat Sikh family and adds that he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The same advertisement describes Shivaram Hari Rajguru as an Indian revolutionary from Maharashtra who belonged to Deshastha Brahmin community. Introducing Sukhdev Thapar,the Congress mouthpiece says,he was an sic freedom fighter who was involved with Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Rajguru in the killing of a British police officer J P Saunders in 1928 in order to take revenge for the death of veteran leader Lala Lajpat Rai due to excessive police beating.

Bringing babus to book

The refusal by a substantial percentage of all-India service officers belonging to the IAS as well as Group A central service officers to submit details of their immovable property returns,in the light of a government decision to put such details in the public domain from this year onwards,has now forced the Centre to resort to some tough measures. The Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances and Pensions has now said it will not grant vigilance clearances to officers who have failed to submit their property returns when they are to be considered for further promotion and empanelment for senior posts. It has accordingly issued a circular on the subject to all state governments as well as to various ministries and departments under the Centre. The ministry has also threatened to put up the names of defaulting officers on its website. The Centre is taking a cue from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who took exemplary initiative after he came back to power,announcing that he would withhold salaries of IAS,IPS and forest service officials in the state unless they made public details of immovable property held by them as well as their relatives.

Surgical strike

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has had a hectic weekend with the talks over the Lokpal Bill keeping his schedule rather tight. In fact,he had to squeeze in time for a minor surgery as well. On April 8,while he was scheduled to meet Swami Agnivesh at 11 am and hold an HRD meeting soon after,he started his day early,at the Apollo Hospital. An external growth above his eye had to be surgically removed and Sibal got the job done before moving on to his mediation duties.

The Presidents reminder

All those who point fingers at the lethargy of the Indian bureaucracy may need to revise their opinion. Addressing the Public Sector Day,President Pratibha Patil on Monday called on the corporate sector to partner with the agricultural sector and come up with a viable model of corporate social responsibility that factors in local conditions and enhances agricultural productivity. The bureaucrats did not need to be prompted any further. In fact,they swung into action almost right away. It is learnt that a high-level meeting was held on Monday itself to see how the idea can be implemented.