Taking no chances

In election times,politicians are generally wary about the gaze of the Election Commission.

In election times,politicians are generally wary about the gaze of the Election Commission. This could be one reason why Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal has written to the election regulator asking if it would be alright for him to hold a small programme to launch his personal website later this week. While his staff had told the minister that he wouldnt be breaking the model code of conduct if he launched his website now although his constituency falls in poll-bound Delhi,the minister was not ready to take any chances and sent a letter to the Election Commission. However,with Chief Election Commissioner P Sampath away to Madhya Pradesh for reviewing arrangements for the forthcoming elections in the state,a final decision on Sibals request would be taken only after he returns.

Wanted : success stories

With elections just round the corner,the Rural Development Ministry has written to states requesting them to send success stories and good practices pertaining to the implementation of its flagship MGNREGA so that it could collate all of them. States have been asked to send in the success stories/good practices by November 10. Though the letter says the ministry wants to collate the success stories so it can share it with all the states,the fact that it has demanded the information so close to the forthcoming state elections and also the Lok Sabha elections due next year isnt lost on anyone.

Hearing issue

At the hearing in the coal blocks allocation matter in the Supreme Court on Tuesday,when an advocate asked the Bench to fix November 11 as the next date of hearing on the issue of refusal of state governments to give prosecution sanction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the cases in their respective states,senior advocate Vivek Tankha,appearing for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra,asked the court to post the matter to a date after polling in Madhya Pradesh. His reasoning: since any adverse observation by the Supreme Court could be used during the campaign,it would be justified if the matter was heard after the elections. Seeing merit in the request,the Bench adjourned the case to November 26.

Different tracks

Railway officials of India and Bangladesh are engaged in a tussle. The issue is the construction of a railway link between Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh. Having agreed to extend a line of credit of Rs 250 crore to Bangladesh for this 15-kilometre link,which is considered important for business between the two neighbours,India is applying some friendly pressure on the neighbour to let its railway construction Public Service Undertaking PSU IRCON build the entire stretch. But through diplomatic channels Bangladesh is insisting that it would appoint its own construction company for the 10-kilometre stretch that falls within Bangladesh. Officials say that the Indian side is insisting on IRCON getting the job to ensure that the money it is extending is spent right.