Recuse excuse

Last week,Congress MP Manish Tewari had announced that he was recusing himself from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

Last week,Congress MP Manish Tewari had announced that he was recusing himself from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice,which is examining the Lokpal Bill. The announcement had come days after he expressed regret for his controversial remarks about Anna Hazare being corrupt. Government sources have clarified that Tewari had never given anything in writing while recusing himself from the committee and his public announcement to this effect had no standing whatsoever. Tewaris announcement had come barely three days before the committees term was to lapse. Incidentally,senior Congress leaders were soon clarifying that Tewari had been re-appointed on the committee,although it is yet to be re-constituted.

Laughter Challenge

At a time when impeachment is the flavour of the Monsoon session of Parliament,anybody would be wary of an allusion to the name of V Ramaswami. The former Supreme Court judge was the first to face impeachment proceedings. But that is exactly what Deputy Speaker Karia Munda did while calling upon Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy to move the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill in the Lok Sabha. Members laughed aloud when Munda said,Mr V Ramaswami! But curiously enough,the laughter got louder when he got it right later. And V Narayanasamy gave them company both times around.

Unhappy Coincidence

The NIA top brass was in North Block this morning to brief Home Minister P Chidambaram on all the major bomb blast cases it is investigating. Little did it realise that another case would be handed over to it within hours. Midway through the meeting,which was meant to prepare the Home Minister for answering a question in Parliament,came the news of the blast outside the Delhi High Court. The meeting had to end abruptly and NIA officers rushed to the spot.

Information Flow

Often outwitted by its opponents in the media war during recent months,the government seems to have finally realised the virtues of ensuring a free flow of information into the public domain. After the bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court,the government has not just provided updates at regular intervals by senior Home Ministry officials something that was witnessed after other recent blasts as well but also instructed the NIA to give out regular information,possibly on a daily basis,regarding its investigations into the blast.

Covering the bases

Immediately after introducing the Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday,Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh got in touch with BJP MP Sumitra Mahajan and expressed his desire for a meeting. Mahajan happens to be the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Rural Development to which the Land Acquisition Bill will be referred. Ramesh clearly wants to ensure that the Standing Committee deliberations are expedited and its report submitted in the winter session of Parliament.

Embarrassing Inclusion

It is not clear whether it is a case of self-righteousness or an embarrassing admission of guilt. In either case,the chain mail being circulated by the ABVP,a student organisation affiliated to BJP,as part of its campaign for the upcoming Delhi University elections,is an eye-opener. The mail lists a host of corruption scandals and carries photographs of the usual suspects Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Home Minister P Chidambaram,Suresh Kalmadi,A Raja,Ashok Chavan along with the allegations against them. In between is a huge surprise a photograph of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and the mention of illegal mining against his name. Now,this is certainly not a case of oversight.