Sibal wins Round one

There is lot to be read in between the lines in Anshuman Mishras apology and retraction on Monday after Arun Jaitley sent legal notices to him and some media houses. What is unusual is that Mishras retraction from the allegations that he levelled against senior BJP leaders including Jaitley was sent officially by the BJPs media cell even as both the party and Mishra say they have nothing to do with each other. Mishras retraction says he would like to be left alone and accepts that he had no significant association/relationship with BJP. It adds that Mishra,while requesting for unconditional apology from Dr Murli Manohar Joshi,Shri Yashwant Sinha and Arun Jaitley,accepts Jaitleys version and approves of his reading on Mishras credentials. However,Jaitley is known to have a dim view of Mishra and places him below the level of lobbyists. What would be interesting to know is,who in the BJP decided Mishras statement should be released by the party to the media.

More lady officers,please

On the day Army Chief General V K Singh hit the headlines,the Supreme Court criticised the institution for not encouraging its lady officers. Justice R M Lodha wondered why the Army does not encourage lady officers with promotions and incentives,and why their services are limited to a few branches. The judge even observed that so far no woman has reached the top in the Army. His companion judges remarks prompted Justice H L Gokhale to note that conditions seem to be better for women in the Air Force.

CBI has its day

The CBI has decided to revive its CBI Day after several years,just when what used to be an annual event was almost forgotten. The agency will hold its CBI Day on April 1 and director Amar Pratap Singh will host the event at his residence. While President Pratibha Patil will be the chief guest,PM Manmohan Singh is also likely to attend the function.