Taking Flight

He may not have done a President Abdul Kalam-like sortie in a fighter aircraft but Defence Minister A K Antony might just have created a unique record of sorts

He may not have done a President Abdul Kalam-like sortie in a fighter aircraft but Defence Minister A K Antony might just have created a unique record of sorts. The minister took off from the Dabolim airbase in Goa on Saturday afternoon and landed on the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier after a 25-minute sortie. It was all on a full mission simulator at the airbase of course,but a senior naval aviator quipped that Antony is the first Indian minister to land on a carrier,that too in the first attempt. It is a different matter that after the flight he was quizzed on the long delays that have plagued INSVikramaditya that is now set to join service in December.

FINGERS CROSSED

WHILE the advice from the Jharkhand seems to be in favour of dissolving the suspended state Assembly and go for elections sometime in latter part of June,the Centre is not so sure yet. During that time,the monsoon is expected to start and many parts of the heavily-forested state would become inaccessible due to rain. Security forces would be at heightened risk from Naxalite groups in such a situation. The Home Ministry is now said to be considering whether a more viable option could be to extend the Presidents rule for some more time and call for elections later this year when some more states are also slated to go to polls. A decision,either way,is expected anytime now.

LOVE IN CHINA

EXTERNAL Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid tried to strike the right chord after his recent visit to China. Putting behind the border row of last month,which had strained the diplomatic relationship between the two countries,Khurshid was all praise of China and the development it had made in the last several years. So much so,that he even expressed his desire to be able to live in China. Not when I am the Foreign Minister of India, he had to add though.

LAST STATE STANDING

WITH Meghalaya set to ban gutkha next month,the only state yet to implement the Supreme Court directive on the matter is Karnataka. Ministers in the erstwhile BJP government there had fought tooth and nail to protect arecanut farmers in the state from the ban. They had met the PM to register their opposition and had used the Assembly elections as a handy tool to buy time. Now that the elections are over,tobacco control officials in the Health Ministry are hoping that a pan-India ban might finally be possible.

ASHWANI EFFECT

WITH the ouster of Ashwani Kumar from the post of Law Minister,the clamour for the removal of Rupinder Khosla,appointed by Kumar as the Assistant Solicitor General for the Punjab and Haryana Court,is also likely to grow. Khosla,who has served as an additional advocate general in the present ruling set-up in the state,is known to be close to the Akali leadership and also to current DGP Sumedh Singh Saini. Kumar had appointed him as ASG by creating a new post. Just a day after Kumars removal,the Punjab Congress was off the blocks,demanding that the Centre rescind Khoslas appointment as ASG without any further delay.