Straight from the Heart

He may be the Punjab Governor but Shivraj Patils heart still yearns for active politics.

He may be the Punjab Governor but Shivraj Patils heart still yearns for active politics. That was clear from his response to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the proposed Lokpal Bill. Mukherjee had sent a questionnaire to all states and Union Territories on six contentious issues relating to the proposed Bill and Patils response was the lengthiest. Apart from responding to the six questions,Patil,in his capacity as Chandigarh administrator,sent a 40-page treatise,spelling out his views on what the Bill should or should not contain. Putting his experience as Lok Sabha Speaker to good use,he gave detailed reasons as to how parliamentary powers could clash with that of the proposed Lokpal.

Lessons to be Learnt

This is going to be the first book on the Commonwealth Games that took place in Delhi in October last year. The CEO of the CWG Organising Committee,Jarnail Singh,is writing a book on his days in the panel. This book has 12 chapters and all are complete, he said. The book is about what mistakes we committed in organising the Games and what are the lessons we learnt. It is also about my days here. In fact,one wag suggested that he title the book,My Days in the Disorganised Committee. Singh was appointed by the Prime Minister as the CEO just 10 months before the commencement of the Games. To make it more interesting,Singh has penned a chapter on The Curse of the Ninth Floor. Whoever had his office on the ninth floor of the OC building got into big trouble, he laughs. For example? Suresh Kalmadi. The book is yet to find a publisher,however.

Yadav Bonding

The Samajwadi Party is very upset that the Nepalese origins of Balkrishna,yoga guru Ramdevs close aide,is being played up by the Congress. The reason is simple it sounds insensitive to Nepals first Yadav president. This is an attempt to drive a wedge into Indo-Nepal relations at a time when Ram Baran Yadav,whose parents originally belonged to India,is the president of Nepal, an SP leader said while exhorting his party cadres to come out in support of Ramdev.

Commission Omission

Days after a delegation of the National Commission of Women NCW visited Bhatta and Parsaul villages in Uttar Pradesh after Rahul Gandhis allegation about atrocities on women,it is still struggling to come up with the final report. The commissions preliminary report suggested that there was merit in the charges of molestation. To firm up its stand,the commission has asked TV news channels to help out. In a letter sent to all major TV channels,the NCW has asked them to furnish raw footage,telecast footage,transcript of the teleprompter and the names of reporters covering the event to the inquiry committee.

Debatable Appointment

The appointment of Niranjan Patnaik as the new Orissa Congress chief has raised many eyebrows in the party. He had to resign from the JB Patnaik Cabinet in 1986 following Orissa High Court strictures terming him as a habitual bribe-giver in a case related to a mine he owns. Patnaik later approached the Supreme Court,which expunged the remarks. Congress leaders are,however,questioning the rationale of propping up Patnaik as the partys face in Orissa at a time when the ruling party at the Centre is on the backfoot on the issue of corruption.