Questions within

Several Congress MPs are livid over the government decision to yield to pressure from Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee over permitting FDI in retail.

Questions within

Several Congress MPs are livid over the government decision to yield to pressure from Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee over permitting FDI in retail. Is Mamata the prime minister or we have our own prime minister? Congress Lok Sabha member from Raigunj Deepa Dasmunsi is reported to have asked a senior party leader. Deepa is anyway gearing up to cross swords with Mamata over her decision to shift the AIIMS sanctioned for West Bengal from her constituency to Kalyani in Nadia district.

BACK IN ACTION?

WITH normalcy returning to Parliament,DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi is seriously contemplating to stage an appearance in the House. Her problem is that even though she recently got bail in the 2G Spectrum case,she is required to be present in the court during the daily trial,which usually concludes by 3.30 pm. The buzz is that she may go to Parliament one of these days after attending trial. There is also a choice before her to move a plea seeking exemption from daily appearance for attending Parliament. But insiders say she has been having second thoughts,fearing the consequences if this were to antagonise the judge. Meanwhile,MPs continue to troop along to meet her in the evenings. Some prominent names include Congresss G K Vasan and Jayanti Natarajan,NCPs Praful Patel and Supriya Sule,and CPMs T K Rangarajan.

WORD PLAY

EATING lizards seems to be the latest phrase that has caught the fancy of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He has twice told Parliament this year that although things are difficult on the economic front,that does not mean we have to start eating lizards. While its origins are in doubt,one theory is that Mukherjees use of the phrase was in retort to a senior Left leader,who had once claimed that food prices were so high that people will have to start eating lizards.

FRONT-RUNNER

THE Department of Personnel amp; Training DoPT may soon have another woman at the helm. With Secretary Alka Sirohi set to complete her tenure in January,Higher Education Secretary Vibha Puri Das is tipped to be a frontrunner for the job. The 1976-batch IAS officer from Uttaranchal cadre has earlier served as Additional Secretary at DoPT and the Department seems keen to have her back. This shift to DoPT,however,will mean that HRD Ministry will be back on its search mission. The Kapil Sibal-led ministry had taken quite some time before it had zeroed in on Das for the Higher Education Secretarys job.

GENERAL POSTING

AFTER turning heads with his high-flying tenure as the 15 Corps Commander,Lt Gen Ata Hasnain is heading for a quieter posting. The officer,whose tenure has seen one of the lowest violence levels in the Valley in years,is expected to be posted back to Army HQ by next month. The officer is tipped to take over as the Military Secretary,a crucial post that determines sensitive postings and promotions of officers. The army top brass has seen a series of changes with Lt Gen J P Nehra taking over as Adjutant General and current DG Military Training,Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali,slated to take over as Deputy Chief.