TWITTER DEBUT

Kapil Sibal is set to join the ranks of politicians who have a presence on microblogging site Twitter.

TWITTER DEBUT

About a fortnight after he launched his personal website,Union Telecom and Law Minister Kapil Sibal is set to join the ranks of politicians who have a presence on microblogging site Twitter. Sibal,who is planning to make a formal announcement about his Twitter debut in a press conference,has already taken a Twitter handle in his own name. Interestingly,although his formal initiation in the world of microblogging is yet to take place,Sibal already has 50 followers. Only time will tell if he reaches anywhere near BJPs PM candidate Narendra Modi,who has over 28 lakh followers or his own party colleague and minister of state Shashi Tharoor,who has over 19 lakh followers on Twitter.

EMPTY ROOMS

Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs decision to stay away from the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka hurt at least one Indian business interest in the island nation. About 150 rooms had been blocked at the recently refurbished Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo for the Indian PM and his delegation. But Singhs decision to skip the summit and send External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid meant only about 15 of those rooms were taken by the Indian delegation. With the hotel fully earmarked for the summit and in a spot due to the last-minute Indian cancellations,the Sri Lankan government had to step in and transfer some 80 CHOGM bookings from other hotels to Taj Samudra.

POST TUSSLE

There are interesting times ahead in the CBI with the panel headed by Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar having cleared the name of West Bengal cadre IPS officer Ranjit Pachnanda for the vacant post of Additional Director. The agency brass is known to have been opposed to his candidature and is still pursuing the matter even as the appointment has gone to the Appointment Committee of Cabinet for final approval. Among those who backed Pachnanda at the November 13 selection committee meeting were the CVC himself and Home Secretary Anil Goswami.

FULL THROTTLE

Sensing that it has a realistic chance in the ensuing Delhi Assembly elections,the Shiromani Akali Dal Badal has decided to leave no stone unturned to win as many seats as possible. Continuing with its successful experiment from the Delhi Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee,where it managed to capture power from SAD Delhi,the SAD B leadership has once again asked all its ministers and MPs to remain in Delhi from November 22 to December 4 and campaign for party candidates.

TAKING a POTSHOT

After Union Minister Manish Tewaris stalking sahebzada jab at Narendra Modi who is at the centre of snooping scandal it was Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmeds turn to poke fun at Modi on Tuesday. He borrowed the name of the 1962 Guru Dutt classic Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam to comment on the stalking,snooping saga. In a Twitter post,he said,They must answer,why Saheb was snooping on Bibi through a Ghulam. While he explained bibi means a respectable woman,no explanation was needed who the Saheb and Ghulam were.