Out of station

MAKING IT MEANINGFUL

THE chief ministers’ meeting on April 15,which was widely expected to discuss the creation of National Counter-Terrorism Centre,is now likely to restrict its deliberations only on the recommendations of the second Administrative Reforms Commission. Approval and implementation of more than 150 recommendations of the Commission,including police reforms and modernisation,have been pending for a long time. It was felt that discussing these recommendations would be a much more meaningful exercise than letting the chief ministers once again rake up the issue of federalism and Centre-state relations in the garb of a discussion on NCTC. However,a status paper on NCTC is planned to be circulated to all the CMs. Incidentally,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who was initially planned to address the meeting,is likely to skip it now.

CRICKETING TALENTS

IF Youth Congress leaders are to be believed,newly appointed Himachal Pradesh PCC chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wicket-keeping ability may have contributed,though in a very small measure,to his latest rise in the party. After Rahul Gandhi became AICC general secretary in charge of Youth Congress in 2007,he had organised a cricket match involving Youth Congress leaders in New Delhi. It was during this match that Rahul was said to have noticed Sukhu who was keeping wickets as Rahul fielded in the gully. That he was also state Youth Congress president and in anti-Virbhadra Singh camp eventually turned out to be the clincher when Rahul was looking for a new PCC chief.

SHORT STINT

IT seems senior IPS officer A K Patnaik did not like Jammu and Kashmir much. The 1983-batch Gujarat cadre officer,who was posted as the head of the Intelligence Bureau in the state just a year ago,is all set to return to Delhi to join back in IB headquarters. Patnaik,who is married to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s novelist daughter Daman Singh,is also due for empanelment as Additional Director General of Police in the course of the next one year,that will make him eligible for the rank of Additional Director in the IB.

GIVING IT A MISS

THE little star power that the Central Advisory Board of Education could boast of was also missing at the meeting on Tuesday. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap who is still gathering applause for his film Gangs of Wasseypur was a surprise nomination to the CABE in the creative art category. This CABE meeting was in fact meant to be his debut at the prestigious education body that has on board all state education ministers besides eminent academics. Kashyap had in fact also indicated that he was interested in attending the meet but to collective disappointment,the filmmaker failed to turn up.