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Costly Mistake

For the Congress,its been an expensive error of judgement. A day after former Puducherry chief minister N Rangasamys All India NR Congress-led alliance trounced the Congress in the Assembly election,his one time party colleagues were lamenting their loss in letting him go. They fondly remember seeing the 60-year-old leader reading newspapers at a tea stall in front of the CM residence with his motorcycle parked nearby,a common-man approach that endeared him to the electorate. They now admit that Rangasamy had approached many Central leaders in New Delhi complaining against how he was being sidelined but was never given a fair hearing. He quit the Congress last January after he sensed that he would have no say in the selection of candidates what with his rival V Narayansamy well-ensconced in the corridors of power in New Delhi. Rangasamy has had the last laugh with half-a-dozen first timers getting elected from his newly launched party.

Cannes Do

The Cannes film festival is considered the biggest annual junket for the Information amp; Broadcasting Ministry Secretary. But given that the current Iamp;B Secretary Raghu Menon is set to retire in September,the ministry buzz was that he may hand over the opportunity to other officials this year. That was not to be,Menon was keen to make it this time too just once before he retires. This has prompted many to ask the larger question on what purpose such trips serve for secretary-level officials,especially this year when the Indian presence at the event is restricted to Bollywood stars endorsing foreign brands.

Flying into Trouble

There is serious call for a complete review of Pawan Hans,from its operations to logistics and maintenance. If the two almost successive crashes in Arunachal Pradesh one of which claimed the life of Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu raised tempers in the Union Cabinet,what is not widely known is that the BSF chopper which went down in Rajasthan on Friday was also being maintained by Pawan Hans. All four persons aboard were killed in the crash.

News Worthies

The Press Information Bureau PIB finds itself in the news. The corridors of the PIB are buzzing with speculation about the fresh posts to be occupied after the GoM on media has been constituted. In the last few days,there has been much discussions over who will be the chosen few to help the GoM officially. The PIB is expected to give logistical support,but the ministers in the GoM want their own officials to be attached with the high-powered ministerial group. It looks like the head of PIB,Neelam Kapoor,will have a tough task trying to handle the heavyweights in the GoM,who would want to strategise on the information campaign to be unleashed by the government.