Wrong Footed

Following the resignation of Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval in the wake of the fiasco over the CBIs status report on the coal scam investigations,former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium had lashed out at the government claiming he too had to resign because he was expected to be pliant. Some other law officers,unhappy with his outburst,are,however,now pointing to the fact that Subramanium had,during his term,attracted controversy for having held a meeting with the lawyer of former telecom minister A Raja. The meeting had happened in Subramaniums office. Raja is the prime accused in the 2G case while Subramanium was the CBI counsel in the case then.

Museum Piece

The hunt for a new Director General for the National Museum has been initiated once again. About 30 people,some with considerable work experience abroad,are learnt to have sent their application for the top job at the most prestigious museum of the country. The Culture Ministry had launched a similar hunt some time back and had considered inviting the best of global talent for the job,but the plans fell flat after it realised that best talents would not work at the salaries it was offering.

Taking it Easy

Hoping to ride on anti-BJP sentiments,the Karnataka Congress appeared to be in the grip of complacency even before polling day. The Bangalore District Congress Committee had been given Rs 1 crore by the party unit to organise a successful rally of party president Sonia Gandhi last week. They obviously put the money to some better use. Even after spending over half-an-hour at the airport and reaching the venue late by an hour,Sonia found the Palace Ground in the city almost half-empty. Even a deeply divided BJP had organised a better show for Gujarat CM Narendra Modi a few days earlier. Incidentally,when Sonia was addressing the rally,Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was taking a siesta at Le Meredien hotel in the city. He had come to Atria Hotel,but found it packed with party leaders who usually spend the entire day in the hotel enjoying the hospitality. As there was no one from the state Congress to entertain him,the Chief Minister decided to lodge himself in a five-star hotel,choosing not even to turn up for Sonias rally.

Corporate Conundrum

It has been a while since Rahul Gandhi has been trying to bring in professionalism in the Congress party,but many are still not very convinced about his methods. The Congress general secretary has continued to rely on,what some old hands at the party consider to be,a corporate style of functioning. Rahuls team has prepared a five to six page template that seeks questions from the state leadership,especially those which aim to pin accountability right down to the district and booth levels. Senior leaders,however,are sceptical if such a one size fits all template can be applied to states with different needs and requirements. Rahul is also keen that party workers down to the booth level should open Facebook accounts so that the leadership can put a face to the names,and access them instantly on a phone or an iPad. Not many are sure if such an initiative will result in political dividend.