Tiraths take

Paying their respects

Speculation surrounding the reason why Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul left the PCA stadium in Mohali for an hour or so in the middle of the Indian innings had led to plenty of unconfirmed rumours,the most widely reported being that they had gone to visit Arun Nehru,a close relative and former political advisor to Sonias late husband,Rajiv Gandhi. Nehru,however,lives on a farm closer to the capital. Mother and son actually visited another Nehru,Fori Nehru,the widow of B K Nehru,the former governor and ambassador who was Pandit Nehrus cousin and was very close to Sonias mother-in-law,the late Indira Gandhi. Mrs Nehru,a Hungarian by birth,is aging and unwell. B K Nehru and Fori had moved from Delhi and settled in a cottage in Kasauli,but after her husband died in 2001,she moved to Chandigarh to live with her son Anil,who works in the pharmaceutical industry,and resides in Chandigarhs Sector 9. Sonia and Rahul spent an hour with her and her son before returning to catch the rest of the match.

BJPs final countdown

While UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress young gun Rahul Gandhi hogged the limelight in Mohali,it is the turn of the BJP top brass to turn out in full strength at the Wankhede Stadium to cheer for the Men in Blue. The talk in the BJP is that party chief Nitin Gadkari who hails from Maharashtra and L K Advani,a cricket buff,might travel to Mumbai to watch the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka. BCCI vice president and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has been a regular at Indias World Cup matches and so is BJP youth wing chief and Himachal cricket association chief Anurag Thakur. Second-rung leaders like Prakash Javadekar are also set to make their presence felt at the Wankhede.

A caring President

As if in conformity with the protocol pecking order,President Pratibha Patil is flying to Mumbai to watch the cricket World Cup final after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it to Mohali for the semi-final. But the larger reason is,of course,the presence of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However,Patil has decided to be extra sensitive to the inconvenience which VIP visits cause to ordinary locals. She has chosen to reach Mumbai a day ahead of the match,on Friday night around 9 pm,well after the rush hour. Besides,there is a string of special instructions from her office one of the key orders being to limit the number of vehicles in her motorcade. So,mini- buses are to be requisitioned instead of separate cars for officials. This will be done,say the orders,without disturbing the cars which form the security box for the President. Also,orders have gone out that traffic may be held up for the minimum possible time,ideally for five or 10 minutes instead of closing the road half-an-hour before the arrival of the VIP,and they should be opened immediately after the motorcade passes. VIPs take note.

Cricket diplomacy-Part II

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa may be coming to watch the World Cup final at Mumbai,but not without making the all important stopover at Tirupati,possibly to pray for his teams success. His purpose aside,the last-minute plan has made life difficult for security agencies which had to hurriedly issue instructions to Tirupati Airport to ensure smooth passage. Until late last night,clearances were being obtained to put everything in order for the visit.

Wheres the money?

India8217;s population reaching the 1.21 billion population mark found a mention in the Supreme Court while a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India was hearing a bunch of petitions by private unaided schools challenging the legality of the Right to Education Act 2010. When told by senior advocate Ashok Desai,representing some of the schools,that it is primarily the governments duty to ensure free and compulsory education of children and it should not be done at the cost of the character and autonomy of private schools,the CJI wondered how it was possible for the government to get the money required. Its just come out that census mark is now 1.21 billion,thats an increase of 50,000 everyday. Where is the money? he queried.

Breaking news

The Army is upbeat over an order by the News Broadcasters Association to a leading Hindi news channel to air an apology for misrepresenting facts in a so-called sting operation. The Army often struggles to deal with the broadcast media but for the first time,it managed to get a favourable decision thanks to the association which has an authority headed by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma. The decision has led many to believe that the Army will resort to the forum more often in the future. The channel has been asked to run the apology at prime time.