Water diplomacy

Chasing Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is keeping Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on his toes these days. Not only is her party making it difficult for him by joining the chorus against the government in Parliament on FDI in retail,but she has still not given him time to discuss the Teesta river water agreement with Bangladesh. Bansal,who is also Minister for Water Resources,has tasked his office to pursue Banerjees office on a daily basis with the request but the effort has so far not worked.

Bargaining Chips

The political heat on FDI in retail has put one political party in a spot Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal. In the last lap of negotiations for a pre-poll alliance with the Congress,the RLD has still not spelled out its stand even though other UP parties like SP and BSP have taken the lead in opposing the move. All that the RLDs Jayant Chaudhary inquired at the all-party meeting was the reasoning behind taking a decision while Parliament was in session but he did not reveal his partys position. The word is that the RLD is likely to convert this ambiguity into a bargaining chip.

Naval Watching

The Navy has upped the security apparatus for Admiral Nirmal Verma. While there is no specific threat against Verma,the security has been raised as intelligence inputs suggest a higher threat perception for high-profile personnel who are easy targets for terror groups. The new set-up was at display during the annual media interaction ahead of Navy Day. For the first time,frisking booths were set up and security personnel were seen sanitising the conference hall. Additional personnel,possibly Marine Commandos,also kept a watchful eye on the proceedings.

Reel Life

Officials of the Enforcement Directorate ED handling corruption cases like 2G and CWG will now be seen on the big screen fighting against corruption. The soon-to-be-released movie on corruption,Kya Yahi Sach Hai,by a former IPS officer will feature one of the ED officials and deputy director Rajeshwar Singh as one of the protagonists. The movie,based on the book Carnage by Angels,has been written by Y P Singh. The movies music was recently launched by Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Mumbai.

SC seeks Varun reply on plea against his election

The Supreme Court Friday sought a response from BJP MP Varun Gandhi on a petition challenging his election to Lok Sabha in 2009 on the ground that he had given incendiary hate speeches against minority communities during his campaign.

A Bench led by Justice Altamas Kabir directed Gandhi,MP from Pilibhit in UP,to reply to Congress candidate V M Singhs question that as to how such persons are allowed to occupy Parliament after giving hateful and vituperative speeches? Varun,the petitioner alleged,had threatened to cut off both hands of persons who raised them against Hindus. He also alleged that Varun had exhorted Hindus in the name of Bhagwad Gita to vote for him so that Indian Muslims could not create another Pakistan.

Singh had moved the SC after the High Court on September 14 dismissed his challenge,citing extreme technicalities. Singh said the HC had reasoned that the speeches,if delivered,were at the pre-nomination stage and hence did not warrant disqualification under Representation of People Act.

LS Secretariat corrects Netaji info

NEW DELHI: With the mystery surrounding the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a 1945 plane crash still unresolved,the Lok Sabha Secretariat has corrected its recent book,Honouring National Leaders: Statues and Portraits in Parliament Complex,saying that no irrefutable proof existed of his demise in the accident. Forward Bloc MP Barun Mukherjee had raised the matter with the Speaker.