Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Off Track
After the NCP complained that the Rail Budget had completely overlooked Maharashtra,the game of mollifying a hurt ally has begun. Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has sought time from NCP boss and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to listen to his concerns. It is learnt that Bansal may offer to correct the imbalance while replying to the debate on the Rail Budget in the coming days.
History Lesson
AFTER its ouster from power in West Bengal and Kerala,the victory in Tripura,however emphatic,could be seen no more than a consolation prize for the CPM. But that did not deter its leader Sitaram Yechury in indulging in a bit of bravado. Yechury was asked how his party managed to post such a big victory in Tripura despite the fact that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had campaigned extensively in the state. Yechury replied that way back in the 80s,Rahuls father,the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,had visited West Bengal and promised to throw the Left into the Bay of Bengal. The Left Front continued to rule West Bengal for more than two decades after that,Yechury said,promising that something similar would happen in Tripura as well after Rahuls campaign.
Budget Sideshows
ARVIND Mayaram,Secretary,Department of Economic Affairs,was seen in a panic immediately after Finance Minister P Chidambaram entered Parliament to attend the Cabinet meeting ahead of the Budget. Mayaram was unable to locate the new Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan. Where is the CEA,where is the CEA, he asked other officers nearby. He was assured only after being told that Rajan was already being escorted to the room where the Cabinet was to meet. Mayaram apparently feared that Rajan,new in his job and not a regular to Parliament,might get lost in the circular alleys of the building. While Mayaram was keen not to lose sight of Rajan,another set of people,two Rajya Sabha MPs,did their best to not to get within sight of each other. Samajwadi Partys Ram Gopal Yadav,seated in the visitors gallery when the Budget was being presented,made a quiet but hasty exit,once he saw former party colleague Amar Singh walking in a gallery directly opposite to him. Yadav,incidentally,was instrumental in Amar Singhs exit from the party.
The Big Picture
DOORDARSHAN,in keeping with its status of being the public broadcaster,gets an advance copy of the Budget documents every year. This time,this privilege was extended to Rajya Sabha Television RSTV as well. As if to justify its new-found importance,RSTV,the latest entrant in the stable of state-funded broadcasters,diligently telecast reports on election results in the three north-eastern states on Thursday morning,when most other news channels were busy with pre-Budget analysis.
Prime Targets
EVERY time a bomb blast or terror attack takes place,the Home Ministry invariably gets to hear that its intelligence alerts are not specific or actionable. The latest example of this was seen after the twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad earlier this month. To answer this criticism,the Home Ministry sent out a three-page detailed alert to all the state governments last week,identifying specific areas like markets or government installations in a particular city which are vulnerable to terrorist threats and need to be safeguarded. Amongst the locations identified in Delhi are the Supreme Court complex and Sarojini Nagar market.
