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DMKS pullout from UPA has ended the tenure of one of the biggest non-performing ministers. M K Alagiri,who was Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister

DMKS pullout from UPA has ended the tenure of one of the biggest non-performing ministers. M K Alagiri,who was Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister,was rarely in office and never replied to a question in Parliament since his induction in 2009. While day-to-day duties were performed by MoS Srikant Jena,Alagiri used to be quick to block Jenas opinions when it came to deciding important policies like fertiliser subsidy or pricing of medicines. His insistence on speaking only in Tamil meant he interacted only with Tamil-speaking officials. He also ensured that any vacancy in his ministry was filled by Tamil Nadu cadre officers. Chairman of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority,financial advisor in ministry and two joint secretaries were all from TN cadre. While his personal staff ruled the roost from his office,important files used to be taken to Madurai for clearance. Now,Jena is feeling liberated,having been given full charge of the ministry.

Intelligent Move

SINCE the operationalisation of NATGRID is still some distance away,the Home Ministry has finally decided to do the next best thing compile and collate all information related to internal security and keep it under the charge of a single officer for ready reference. A director-level officer is being appointed in the internal security division of the ministry for this purpose. This would hopefully avoid situations wherein officers are unable to locate a particular piece of information,as has happened frequently. The new officer is also likely to be given the charge of a recently launched project called Terrorist Information System that is meant for providing information on suspects to anti-terror agencies.

CBIs Coup

SOMETIMES even the CBI can get its timing right. In its golden jubilee year,the agency has managed to rope in President Pranab Mukherjee to deliver its annual DP Kohli Memorial Lecture on April 6. This will be the first time that the lecture,named after CBIs founder-director,will be delivered by a President. In fact,the only other time that a President has been present at either of the two annual events that the CBI organises,the other being an anti-corruption meeting,was in 2006 when A P J Abdul Kalam attended the anti-corruption meet at Vigyan Bhawan.

Alvas Wait

RAJASTHAN Governor Margaret Alva has been desperately seeking to return to active politics but hasnt got the nod from the party central leadership as yet. During the Congress Chintan Shivir in January,she had taken great pains to do up a room in the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur,expecting to host Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for three days. But Sonia chose to stay elsewhere in the Pink City. Alva is said to have been waiting ever since to hear from the Delhi leadership allowing her return to active politics ahead of the assembly elections in her home state of Karnataka.