session on oratory

After the ruling Congress,it is the turn of the BJP to give a few lessons to its spokespersons.

After the ruling Congress,which recently organised a workshop for its spokespersons from across the country,it is the turn of the Opposition Bharatiya Janta Party to give a few lessons to its spokespersons in the art of articulation and aggression. Bharatiya Janta Party media cell convenor Shrikant Sharma has organised a meeting of these spokespersons on Saturday,who would be addressed by the partys top brass Rajnath Singh,Sushma Swaraj,Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu at a daylong workshop at the party headquarters. Partys chief campaigner Narendra Modi,who was initially scheduled to be in the capital on Sunday,is learnt to have decided to advance his arrival and reach Saturday evening itself to give a few tips about oratory and communication tactics to about 200 state-level spokespersons.

Bravery on record

The CRPF,which is the largest force deployed for anti-Naxal operations in the country,is planning to publish a book to honour its martyrs. It will include short descriptions of all the men killed in action from 2001 to 2011. This is a way of keeping a record of all the men who laid down their lives for the country,according to a CRPF officer who said the chapter on Dantewada massacre of 2010 where 75 CRPF personnel were killed will be given special focus.

Vying for ASI job

There is a long list of contenders for the post of Director General,Archaeological Survey of India,thanks to the Culture Ministrys decision to not appoint a civil servant to this post. Those in contention for the ASI top job are B R Mani,current additional DG,ASI; Prof Vasant Shinde,an archaeologist from Punes Deccan College; Dr Rakesh Tiwari,Director of Uttar Pradeshs State Archaeology Department; Dr Ravindra Korisettar from Karnatak University; and Kishor K Basa who is currently teaching in Utkal Universitys Department of Anthropology.

Strategic retreat

Congress spo-kespersons were missing from television panel discussions on Narendra Modi vs Manmohan Singh debate following their Independence Day speeches on Thursday.

The previous day,the party had decided to stay away from these discussions following the Gujarat CMs declaration that the nation would compare his speech in Bhuj and the Prime Ministers at the Red Fort. The Congress communication wing,it is learnt,decided that the party spokespersons should not legitimise Narendra Modis attempt to project himself at par with the Prime Minister.