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Journalism of Courage
Personal Matters
The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the coal block allocation issue may have stalled Parliament but has not come in the way of personal relations between leaders. Senior BJP leader L K Advani recently wrote to Defence Minister A K Antony,requesting the help of his ministry to dig our archival photographs and documents of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee for a book that has been planned by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini RMP,an autonomous Mumbai-based trust. The minister promptly acted on the request and instructed officials to collect and compile unpublished material and photographs from official archives for the project.
Natures Bounty
He may have been crying hoarse over the perks enjoyed by MPs and ministers but being Anna Hazare does come with its own perks. The activist has enjoyed two back-to-back free stints at the fairly steeply priced Jindal Naturecure Institute in Bangalore first for 17 days in February and the latest one for eight days. Whats more,while other patients have to apply and get admitted in the institute based on experts discretion,Hazare just decided to have another treatment and the institute which does not normally encourage repeat visits unless they decide there is need for one,obliged. He is a national figure, says a functionary at the institute.
Shouting Match
The daily obstructionist effort in Parliament has enabled the BJP shouting brigade to acquire fresh skills to do their job more effectively. Party Lok Sabha member from Balaghat,K D Deshmukh,however,takes the cake. Deshmukh,who is apparently endowed with very strong vocal chords,parks himself very close to the Speakers podium and shouts a full-throated Pradhan Mantri istifa do Prime Minister,resign, virtually deafening both Meira Kumar and Secretary-General T K Viswanathan. Poor Viswanathan,he has to bear the brunt of Deshmukhs charge as if he is the Prime Minister, a Congress member said in a lighter vein.
Fund Fracas
An answer in Parliament regarding spending of MP Local Area Development Scheme MPLADS fund has come to haunt MPs from Kerala. This has for once also united the Left and Congress MPs from the state. After a flurry of reports in the media,including in the Malayalam language press,about poor spending of their MPLADS fund,some 12 MPs from the Left and the Congress held an unusual joint interaction with the Kerala media on Monday to explain their side of the story. The distraught lawmakers said they were receiving calls from all and sundry regarding their non-spending. One MP said he even got calls from abroad. All of them had the same story to tell that they have been utilising their funds and the district administration was late in updating the records.
Workers Unite
At a time when the Congress,the BJP and the Left are indulging in allegations and counter allegations over coal block allocations,their trade union arms are not willing to affect the political tug of war affect their unity. The trade unions be it Congresss INTUC,Lefts CITU and AITUC or Sangh Parivar-affiliated BMS are gearing up to announce yet another joint programme. They had in February observed a one-day general strike together and this time,sources said,plans are afoot to call a two-day general strike in February next year ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget. It seems the workers of the world unite slogan is finally coming true.
