Style statement

IF you cant block the message,try to negotiate with the messenger. With its back to the wall,as one expose after another is emerging almost on a daily basis,the government on Thursday invited editors of television channels for a discussion over lunch. The GoM on Media played host,with the member ministers using the opportunity to try and reason out that a vitiated atmosphere was the result of a 24215;7 sensationalism news shown on television screens. In his opening remarks,Finance Minister P Chidambaram made the point that in the din over all sorts of allegations,the very important economic decisions that the government had recently announced,got sidelined. Considering the nature of 24215;7 television news,however,it remains to be seen how much the government was able to persuade them to change their natural instinct.

INVITED OR NOT?

THERE was a stampede of sorts to manage an invite for a glitzy wedding reception on Thursday in the capital. The event was the Dawat-e-Walima of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor,being hosted by Sharmila Tagore. The buzz was that even the status of a Cabinet minister was no guarantee for getting an invite. But everyone who considers himself or herself a heavyweight in the city,wanted to be seen at the party of the season. So the aides of many MPs,ministers and bureaucrats were making frantic phone calls to find out whether their bosses have received the invite or not. The winners and losers will become known in a couple of days.

TAKING IT LIGHTly

UTTAR Pradesh is classified as one of the states affected by Left Wing Extremists but it does not appear to be taking the threat as seriously as other states. At a meeting of nine Naxal-affected states called by the Home Ministry on Thursday,while others states were represented by Chief Secretaries and Director General of Police,UP chose to send a DIG-level officer. DIG,Varanasi,Satish Ganeshan represented the state. UP incidentally has been long affected by the Maoist problem,mostly involving overground workers,and receives huge grant from Centre for its LWE areas. The meeting was called to discuss hostage police and long term plans to combat Naxal problems.

IN A SPOT

THE Union Ministry of Sports amp; Youth Affairs has been left in a quandary after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar recently backtracked from its commitment to host the National Youth Festival in January. The Bihar government wrote to the ministry saying it does not find it appropriate to organise this festival when the state is facing floods and drought in different parts. In desperation,the ministry reached out to Haryana and West Bengal governments but got no positive response from them either. Ministry officials,however,have an interesting take,so far as the refusal of Bihar to host the event is concerned. They believe that Bihars refusal has less to do with the reasons cited by the state and more about the fact that the festival is organised on the occasion of Vivekananda Jayanti. Now,Nitish would probably have absolutely no problem with Swami Vivekanands name,but it so happens that Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has just finished a much publicised month-long yuva vikas yatra youth development rally,that too was named after Vivekananda.