Seniority Issue

Communication Gap

THE Home Ministry has often been told that it needed to establish a comprehensive media unit on the lines of the ones in the Ministry of External Affairs or the Prime Ministers Office. The present set-up in the Home Ministry has been found to be woefully inadequate and ill-prepared to convincingly put across its viewpoint in real-time. Unlike the MEA or the PMO,it has not yet taken to technology aids like Twitter to disseminate information. On Friday,Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde,a communication disaster himself,called a meeting of all the joint secretaries in the ministry to shake-up things a bit in this regard. One of the joint secretaries,Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi,has now been appointed as the official spokesperson,in addition to his current charge of police affairs.

Educational Loss

SOCIOLOGIST Andre Beteille,who has declined to be a member of the Education Commission,is not the only one opting out of a prominent academic position. Peter Ronald De Souza,director of Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla is also relinquishing charge,months before his tenure ends in December. Unlike Beteille though,De Souza is quitting for personal reasons. He wants to return to New Delhi to be with his children. While the M M Pallam Raju-led HRD Ministry is making attempts to persuade him to stay on,De Souza is learnt to be reluctant to reconsider his decision.

Deal Breaker

SENSING that the BJP could disrupt Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on the issue of Pakistans National Assembly passing a resolution on Afzal Guru,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath struck a deal with L K Advani and Yashwant Sinha shortly before the House proceedings began on Friday. The BJP leaders were told that they would be allowed to make their point during the Zero Hour but they should not disrupt the Question Hour. But while managing the Opposition,Kamal Nath forgot to reach out to UPAs outside supporters SP and RJD who have been itching to be heard on the changes in the Civil Services examination pattern. So while the BJP kept its side of the deal,the SP and the RJD created a ruckus and forced the adjournment of the Question Hour. Two more adjournments followed,but Lalu Yadav ensured that he got to speak on the issue before the BJP could criticise the Pakistan resolution.

Bukhari severs ties with SP

LUCKNOW: As Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav completed

his first year in office,the bonhomie between the ruling SP and Syed Ahmad Bukhari,Imam of Delhis Jama Masjid,ended on Friday with Bukhari saying he had severed all relations with the party and had conveyed this to SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav in a letter.

My relationship with the SP is over. Mulayam tried to manage things by sending a messenger last night,but they have miserably failed to fulfil their promises to Muslims, Bukhari told The Indian Express. He said he would lead an open revolt against Mulayam and his party. We are organising a big congregation of Muslims in Etawah the native district of Mulayam on April 21. Muslims have invited me there and I will share my bad experience with Mulayam, he said.

Bukhari added his candidates who were given positions by the SP would resign. Waseem Ahmad has dispatched his resignation to Mulayam. I have also asked my son-in-law Umar Ali Khan,an MLC,to resign, Bukhari said.