On the Backfoot

At a meeting with Muslim leaders from the state at Congress headquarters here this week,he faced some tough questions.

On the Backfoot

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh may be wooing minorities aggressively,but party leaders from Uttar Pradesh are not convinced. At a meeting with Muslim leaders from the state at Congress headquarters here this week,he faced some tough questions. You may emerge as a leader of minorities but the fact is you have not developed any minority face of the party in Lucknow, said a Congress leader. Others joined in, questioning the wisdom of announcing a minority sub-quota when the party was facing probing questions about the Sachar Committee report. Singh remained on the defensive,trying to correct the impression that he wanted to be a leader of the minorities.

Battle Batla

With the Congress raking up the Batla House encounter in the run-up to the UP assembly elections,the Samajwadi Party SP seems to have latched onto this issue to corner the party. The SP leadership is learnt to have touched base with RJD MLA Asif Mohammed Khan,who represents Okhla constituency in the Delhi Assembly,to campaign for the party in UP to expose the alleged duplicity of the Congress on the encounter. Given the fact that Batla House falls under the Okhla constituency,the SP hopes that Asifs campaigning would lend credibility to its charge. Asif is learnt to have held a meeting with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav recently.

Anger Management

Arguing the PIL on the Army Chief issue,senior advocate Bhim Singh,appearing for the petitioners Grenadiers Association,found the Chief Justice of India visibly upset with certain factors concerning his case. Singh immediately stopped his submissions to tell the CJI in open court a probable first ever in the Supreme Court that as CJI of this court you should not get angry,My Lord. The Chief Justice immediately put Singh at ease with assurances that he was not angry but had only expressed his disagreement to some points made by Singh. All in a days work.

Lame Excuses

Courting one controversy after another and facing flak for his complete lack of performance in his second stint,Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has come out with an excuse that the party leadership finds difficult to counter. He says that he has a serious dearth of talent in the Legislature Party and has to make do with those who have little knack for governance. Not many among his party colleagues in Delhi are convinced though.