Power politics

A couple of days ago,Sonia had sat with Mulayam in the Lok Sabha for a few minutes to bring to his notice the electricity woes in the Gandhi bastions

Power politics

Even as Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav joined the Left Front in attacking the government on coal block allocation issue,UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi walked up to him again,this time to thank him for ensuring an increase in power supply to Rae Bareli and Amethi districts. A couple of days ago,Sonia had sat with Mulayam in the Lok Sabha for a few minutes to bring to his notice the electricity woes in the Gandhi bastions. Mulayam promptly acted on the request and ensured that these two districts were put at par with Mainpuri and Etawah,his own strongholds,as far as electricity supply was concerned.

Image conscious

For Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,the recent visit of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was a strong endorsement of his leadership in the state. It was therefore no surprise that he took great care in ensuring that the image of his state government was not spoiled by people badly affected by the excessive rainfall Rajasthan has received this year. The residents of Madrampura Colony in Jaipur were forced to stay home by the administration so that they did not complain to Sonia against the state government. Instead,Congress supporters from elsewhere were parked in front of her so that they spoke well of the Gehlot regime. With his detractors like Union minister C P Joshi,Assembly Speaker Deependra Singh Shekhawat and Girija Vyas active in Delhi,a paranoid Gehlot did not want to take any chances.

The missing tea

Curious as to why it was not served the customary tea and snacks at the routine media briefing in Parliament House on Thursday,the CPM leadership summoned the catering staff. The reason for the lapse left it amused. The party was told that the key to the almirah containing the cutlery sets had gone missing and there were no utensils to serve the tea and snacks in. The fact that catering in Parliament is handled by the Railway Ministry,a portfolio held by Lefts sworn enemy Trinamool Congress,added a political twist to the incident.

Making exception

In an unusual move,the government is all set to give a six-month extension to CRPF DG K Vijay Kumar who is to retire in September this year. A 1975-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre,Kumar is credited with revamping the force involved in Naxal operations and taking some welfare measures for his men. Extensions to heads of police forces is not a common practice but the government seems to be willing to make an exception in this case.

Lok Sabha secretary-general gets another one-year extension

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Secretary-General T K Viswanathan has been granted an extension for another year,sources said Friday. The extension,the second since his appointment in 2010,will be effective from Saturday,they said.

The Secretary-General,head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat,is of the rank of the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of India. Viswanathan,who is close to 64,is a former law secretary. He also served as member-secretary of the Law Commission of India.

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Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had held consultations with Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj over the issue early this week.

BJP slams Digvijaya

A day after Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh targeted CAG Vinod Rai accusing him of harbouring political ambitions,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said Friday there was no need for constitutional authorities to be touchy and sensitive about criticism. He also said if a citizen like Singh comments on the functioning of a constitutional authority,it should be taken in the right spirit. Condemning Singhs remarks against Rai,BJP on Friday said the Congress was trying to run down the CAG with an intention of demoralising countrys apex auditing body.