Wrong Analogy

A parliamentary delegation from Saudi Arabia was ushered inside the Rajya Sabha special box just as the House was witnessing noisy scenes over the Aircel-Maxis deal. Quickly,the governments floor managers passed on a message to the agitating Opposition benches requesting calm during a customary message from the Chair greeting them. The Opposition complied and chairman Hamid Ansari read out the greetings,in which he hoped that the visiting delegation would see and learn more about Indias parliamentary system. And that they did. As soon as the message was over,the Opposition was back at its feet again,shouting slogans against Home Minister P Chidambaram. Within minutes the House had to be adjourned. One member from the treasury benches was heard saying that this is what they the delegation would learn. During the break,however,several members,including Najma Heptullah and P Rajeeve walked up to the box to interact with the guests.

Bengal on Song

A couple of Rajya Sabha members on Tuesday got the opportunity to show their singing talents in the House. As the House paid tributes to Rabindranath Tagore on his 151st birth anniversary,Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of the Trinamool Congress,speaking in Bengali,broke into Rabindra Sangeet. Kumar Deepak Das,who admitted that he could not speak Bengali,tried to emulate him by singing Ekla chalo re. Several other MPs spoke in Bengali. Apparently,Bengali translators in the Rajya Sabha staff were a cheerful lot. It is rare that anyone speaks in Bengali in the Rajya Sabha. On Tuesday,thanks to Tagore,they had their hands full. Apart from Parliament,a special ceremony to mark the occasion was held at the Rail Bhawan too. Railway Minister Mukul Roy paid floral tributes to a Tagore portrait kept at the entrance of the ministry.

Hillary Thali

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made it clear to the Indian side that this was going to be her farewell visit to India. As she demits office as the USs top diplomat by the end of the year,she made a wish at the last minute and South Block swung into action. Monday night,she expressed her desire to visit Humayuns Tomb. Sure enough,External Affairs Minister S M Krishna asked the South Block mandarins to ensure that she was able to made that trip quietly and without any hassle. So,she went for a morning stroll before she started the days engagements. After she returned and met Krishna over breakfast,she is learnt to have requested to be served quickly as she was hungry. During breakfast,she relished dosas and idlis and even asked for a second helping. So much so that the Taj Palace Hotel decided to name it as Hillarys breakfast thali which will be available from next Monday onwards. In return,known for her inter-personal skills,Hillary surprised everybody by congratulating Krishna on completing 50 years of political life a fact not known to many Indian officials as well.