PC at the Games

Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar recently confided to colleagues at a meeting that he was facing problems on the roads because of the CWG traffic regulations. He said since his car did not have the special T3 pass required for driving in the dedicated CWG lane,he was reaching his Udyog Bhawan office late. His colleagues were quite surprised,especially since his wife,Sindhushree,happens to be Secretary in the Ministry of Sports,under whom the Commonwealth Games are being organised.

A matter of protocol

Protocol slip-ups during the opening ceremony of the Games were not restricted only to the Presidents staff. Several shortcomings were observed by top officials and dignitaries who attended the ceremony,prompting some to write to the Organising Committee so that the closing ceremony be better planned. One of those who sent a note was the Armed Forces after the Army Chief raised certain points,including the fact that no reception and guidance was provided at the entrance of the event. While no staff officer was allowed to help with protocol issue,even the seat allocated to the Army Chief did not have a proper view of the ceremony. The Armed Forces have now asked the OC to allocate special passes so that a certain number of officers can accompany the chief,as per protocol at all national events.

No show,no award

Notwithstanding the respect and reverence they carry,the National Award functions instituted by the government are generally considered boring and humdrum. That is probably why some of the countrys top stars tend to skip such events. Last year,cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh invited public criticism for not attending the Padma awards given away by President Pratibha Patil. Not taking kindly to such behaviour,which not only belittles the office of the President but also the awards themselves,the government has now decided to be stern with the awardees. For the forthcoming National Film Awards 2009,that are to be given away on October 22,the Iamp;B Ministry has written to all the 89 awardees that they must personally accept the awards and cannot depute any relative or friend to do so on their behalf. If they are unable to make it to the function,the awards will be couriered to their addresses. Earlier this year,Aamir Khan had deputed Prasoon Joshi to accept the National Film Award 2008 on his behalf for Taare Zameen Par . Similarly,Anil Kapoor had sent his daughter,Sonam Kapoor,to receive his award for the film My Name is Gandhi.

Lalli keeps Iamp;B Ministry busy

These days,officials of Prasar Bharati and Information amp; Broadcasting Ministry are busy dusting old files. Acting on the report of the Central Vigilance Commission CVC,which had indicted Prasar Bharati CEO B S Lalli for allegedly granting favours to some broadcast companies and financial mismanagement,the Ministry had sent his papers to the Prime Ministers Office to be forwarded to the President of India for a reference to the Supreme Court. The PMO returned the file with the Law Ministrys revised opinion that the CEOs version should be taken on the CVC report. To prepare his reply,Lalli has sought all the official documents used by the CVC to indict him. There are 116 such files. Ministry officials are now busy digging them out and making photocopies of the documents to be provided to the Prasar Bharati CEO.

Wanted: a voice for Cong

After the Congress high command asked party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi not to brief the media thus appeasing the Kerala unit which was demanding his removal party managers are in a quandary. The party is suddenly short of spokespersons for conducting routine briefings and making the rounds of television studios to present their viewpoint. Spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan has taken leave for three weeks as her London-based son is getting married to a British national later this month. Another spokesman,Shakeel Ahmed,is busy campaigning for the party in Bihar. Spokesman Manish Tewari was abroad and returned only on Friday. With only Tewari left to bat for the party in the next few weeks,the partys media department chairman,Janardan Dwivedi,will have a difficult time. Incidentally,although Union Minister and AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik is also on the six-member panel of spokespersons,the minister has never shown much interest in the job.

From Delhi to Raipur

Considered the most powerful bureaucrat in the HRD Ministry,Additional Secretary Sunil Kumar may soon be moving out. He is the top contender for the Chief Secretarys post in Chhattisgarh,which will fall vacant in December this year. The IAS officer from Chhattisgarh cadre has quite a few supporters. While he was former HRD Minister Arjun Singhs blue-eyed boy,Kumar has also managed to retain the goodwill of his successor Kapil Sibal. So much so that a special post of Additional Secretary was created in the Ministrys higher education department to accommodate him.

And the awards go to8230;

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal seems to be the favourite for awards this season. After receiving one in the US last month,Sibal was chosen by a business publication as the Business Reformer of the Year,an award that would have pleased him no end considering that he likes to best describe himself as a reformer of the system. But the real icing on the cake for him was a congratulatory note from Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh,who,incidentally,was a contender for the same award. The two dont exactly see eye to eye on a lot of policy issues. Sibal reciprocated to Rameshs gesture by promptly inviting him to a lunch meeting.

Sibal makes amends

Having come under heavy fire in the last session of Parliament for disregarding the recommendations of the parliamentary panel looking into the Tribunals Bill,HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has decided not to take any chances. Last week,he went on a damage-control exercise,meeting vocal members of the standing committee on HRD to assuage their feelings. Among those who were present at the meeting were N K Singh,BJP MP Prakash Javadekar and Congress MP Keshav Rao,who had fired the first salvo against Sibal when the issue was taken up on the last day of the last session. The Bill could not be passed because of the strong opposition. Committee chief Oscar Fernandes was also present. Sibal assured the committee that he never intended to ignore the committees recommendations,but wanted to incorporate them within a year after seeing how the implementation of the legislation would take off.

When Pranab put his foot down

Former Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary,who had tried to get one more extension in service till the proverbial last minute,appeared to have convinced Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to include him in the delegation of parliamentarians to Geneva the trip was to start a day after the completion of his tenure. When the Speaker tried to plead his case at a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,he expressed his displeasure. Mukherjee also ensured that the former law secretary was appointed to the coveted post.

Seeking justice for Judge

Supporters of controversial Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen,who is facing impeachment proceedings,have started a campaign to clarify his point of view. In doing so,they said that while proceedings are being carried out against Sen for an irregularity committed by him before he became a Judge,no action has been taken against former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Nirmal Yadav,who is now in Uttarakhand HC,although she was indicted by the in-house committee appointed by the CJI as well as the CBI,in the cash-at-Judges-doorstep scam. They also point out that her brother is a minister in the Haryana Government.

Family vs party for Mulayam

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh is trying hard to milk the Babri verdict to get back his hold on the minority support base. The SP is desperate to bring its erstwhile minority face,Azam Khan,back into the party. But Khan,who parted ways after Mulayam closed ranks with Kalyan Singh,wants to be rehabilitated as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly a post he held before he left. Mulayam is finding it difficult to accommodate him as the post has been given to his brother,Shivpal Yadav,who is reluctant to give it up now. Last heard,party leaders were trying to work out a formula to strike a balance between Mulayams family compulsions and party compulsions.

Cong eyes Lalus men

While the Congress is not very hopeful about its electoral prospects in the Bihar Assembly elections,party insiders involved in ticket distribution say they are contesting for the future. They believe a dismal performance by Lalu Prasads RJD would be a boon for the Congress,as the party would then attract RJD leaders. The Congress has,therefore,been generous in granting tickets to candidates picked by most of the RJD men whose suggestions have been ignored by Lalu. Congress managers even claim that they have ingratiated themselves with all three of Lalus MPs,including former minister Raghuvansh Prasad.