Opinion Friendly warning

Departure from home

THE last three Lokpal Bills in 1996,1998 and 2001 were introduced in Parliament by the Home Minister and then referred to the standing committee on home affairs. The government has departed from past precedent this time and referred the new Lokpal Bill to the standing committee on public grievances,personnel,law and justice. The switch in committees is because BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu heads the standing committee on home,whereas Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi chairs the committee on public grievances.

Ending paper chase

AN MP receives voluminous literature daily,including the question hour papers,business papers,reports and other documents laid on the table of the House. The National Informatics Centre has developed a software application so that parliamentarians can have easy access to daily information on an iPad instead. It has been decided to gift iPads to all MPs,regardless of whether they are techno- savvy and make use of the gadget (Actually less than 50 per cent of the MPs personally use the computers gifted to them by Parliament). Strangely,the one-third MPs of the Rajya Sabha who are about to retire have also been presented the iPads. Two CPI(M) MPs,Brinda Karat and Mohammed Amin,have written to the Rajya Sabha chairperson declining the iPad offer since they feel it would be unethical to avail of a benefit costing about Rs 50,000 when they will not be able to use it for parliamentary work.

Non-paper decision

WHEN the Banking Secretary made a presentation to the Public Accounts Committee on 2G,he referred to some “non-paper decisions” which were made by the ministry. He meant that instructions had been communicated verbally without putting any notation on the file. BJP MP Jaswant Singh was quick to pounce on the term and remark that while the concept of “non paper transactions” was familiar in diplomacy,he found it strange that it had acquired currency in the financial sector. Singh’s sarcasm was lost on many of his parliamentary colleagues who were puzzled by the banking secretary’s jargon.

Unnecessary expense

IT was at the instance of the spouse of RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi that the designated bungalow for the chief of external security was shifted from 2 Tughlaq Lane to the more spacious 7 Tughlaq Lane. The transfer has meant additional overheads. Several lakhs were spent on new tiles and landscaping of the garden. A fail-safe communication system had to be reinstalled in the new residence. Another intelligence honcho who has similarly shown scant regard for public funds is the former director general of military intelligence,Lt General R K Loomba,who installed a full fledged telephone exchange at his residence.

Small but powerful

THE Parsis are not the only minuscule community which can boast of contributions disproportionate to its modest numbers. Gowd Saraswat Brahmins,though small in size,have a number of illustrious members including industrialists Vijay Mallya and Raj Salgaocar,journalists Rajdeep Sardesai,Dileep Padgaonkar and Shobhaa De,(nee Rajadhyaksha) and film directors Girish Karnad and Shyam Benegal. Many feel the community’s biggest contribution to the nation is its cricketers. The two cricketing icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar are Saraswat Brahmins and between them,they have scored almost as many test hundreds as their contemporaries in cricket put together.