Notable Absentees

The party's lone woman spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary was missing.

The Congress responded to the political opportunity presented by the snooping scandal with much alacrity. Sensing the political opportunity,the party high command made Jayanthi Natarajan fly down from Chennai on a short notice and Girija Vyas was asked to rush to Delhi leaving her hectic campaign work in Rajasthan on Sunday morning to hold a joint press conference on the issue. While Vyas and Natrajan appeared along with Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mahila Congress chief Shobha Oza to take on Narendra Modi,two women who were part of the AICC media team were missing. Priya Dutt,the lone secretary attached to communication and publicity department chief Ajay Maken,has not been seen in the Congress headquarters ever since his appointment in June. The partys lone woman spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary was missing. One gets to hear that the party has dropped Chowdhary on account of non-performance and Haryana leader Randeep Singh Surjewala will take her place.

IN A FIX

With the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) refusing to shift to a swanky new building adjacent to the CBI headquarters,the central force designated to secure the premises of the structure is in a fix. The CISF,which has been asked to secure the new R&AW headquarters built on the request of the external intelligence agency itself over a cost of Rs 100 crore,is in a quandary now. CISF has kept its men in reserve to protect the headquarters but now they do not know what to do with them as the older headquarters,few metres away is currently being guarded by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel. R&AW has refused to shift due to security issues as they might have to share the building with some other government departments.

LOOKING RIGHT

With the crucial Constituent Assembly elections in neighbouring Nepal due on Tuesday,the unexpected news coming in is a surge in support for the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal,which advocates return to monarchy and the Hindu state. Incidentally,the partys chairman Kamal Thapa was in India last month during which he claimed to have met BJPs PM candidate Narendra Modi. Thapa has been quoted by the Nepali press as saying that Modi assured him of support for a Hindu Rashtra.

POLITICS CALLING?

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As the country gave an emotional farewell to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar,Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday remarked that Tendulkar may even become a minister some day. When asked about Tendulkars possible political career,Ramesh said he is a Member of Parliament right now and one does know how his political career would span out. He may even become a minister one day, Ramesh said.

NAME GAME

What’s in a name,some may say,but Congress leader from Chhattisgarh Charan Das Mahant begs to differ. During a press interaction in Raipur on Sunday,Mahant was asked about the opposition using the title of a famous Habib Tanvir play Charandas Chor to mock him. Giving a spin to the title,Mahant said as a child he would often feel upset about his parents having named him Charan Das but now he is grateful to them because he has understood the true meaning and worth of the name. He said Charandas refers to a sevak,who would always serve the people and be at their feet.

SC on Waqf Act: Stay on clause that creator has to be practising Islam for 5 yrs

India1 hr ago

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, provision requiring registration of Waqf by user, but paused the clause that states a person must be a practitioner of Islam for five years to create a Waqf until state governments frame relevant rules.

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