New Ties

The last time he was in the news was when he reportedly invited the wrath of the Congress president for having absented himself during the Lokpal vote.

New Ties

The last time he was in the news was when he reportedly invited the wrath of the Congress president for having absented himself during the Lokpal vote. On Sunday,Hamdullah Sayeed,the youngest member of the 15th Lok Sabha,tied the knot with Delhi-based Aamna Mirza,a PhD student of Delhi University,in an elaborate ceremony in Lakshwadeep. The nikah ceremony was attended by 10,000 people

Added Importance

Anyone who is even remotely important for the Congress in the UP polls,wields tremendous influence in New Delhi these days. Like P L Punia,who heads the SC/ST Commission. Once a key aide of UP CM Mayawati,Punia is expected to swing some reserved seats for the Congress in the state. Therefore,when the Commission complained to the Cabinet Secretariat that it was not being consulted on important policy matters,it was bound to be taken seriously. The Cabinet Secretariat has written to all ministries and departments telling them that SC/ST Commission must not just mandatorily consulted on all policy decisions affecting these communities but also on all major policy matters that are placed before the Cabinet for approval. It has also asked them to ensure that the unabridged/unedited views of the Commission are appended to every major policy decision that is placed before the Cabinet.

Coalition Management

Rashtriya Lok Dal RLD chief Ajit Singh may have given the Congress a few lessons in political deals and somersaults during the 2008 trust vote,but the grand old party has not lost its confidence in him. Hopeful of playing a kingmaker in Uttar Pradesh together with the RLD,Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has deputed a young Congress MP and son of a party chief minister to exclusively look after the needs of Singhs son Jayant during Assembly election. The Congress MP has been camping in Uttar Pradesh to provide everything that Jayant desires. Now that is the art of coalition management!

Full Steam Ahead

The Indian Railways has plans to revive the old-world charm by reintroducing steam engines on some selected hill routes,but it has been facing one big problem the lack of spare parts for its century-old steam engines. There are no manufacturers of these steam engines any more and the original design templates are also missing. Help has now come from within the Railway Board. Sanjiv Handa,Member Mechanical,who mentors a group of heritage loco enthusiasts,has got in touch with UK-based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society,one of the biggest such groups,and sought its expertise in reviving and preserving heritage steam locos. The society has already sent two steam engineers to help restore the locomotives at the heritage hill railway line in West Bengal which connects Darjeeling.

Self Help

Law Secretary D R Meena,who is retiring in April-end,is seeking an extension. In what could be a one of its kind case,Meena is planning to move a note for his own extension. It is not known if his move has the support of Law Minister Salman Khurshid,who has not been visible in the ministry since campaign started in UP,where his wife is fighting a difficult election.