Delhi Confidential: Code Wary

Giving it a Miss At a time when the BJP is going all out to woo Dalit leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the party seems to have forgotten to organise any condolence meeting for its lone Dalit president Bangaru Laxman who died recently. While BJP patriarch L K Advani, former party president Venkaiah […]

Giving it a Miss

At a time when the BJP is going all out to woo Dalit leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the party seems to have forgotten to organise any condolence meeting for its lone Dalit president Bangaru Laxman who died recently. While BJP patriarch L K Advani, former party president Venkaiah Naidu and party general secretary (organisation) Ramlal attended the funeral of Laxman last Sunday, it is little known “Rashtriya Ambedkarwadi Mahasabha” that is organising the condolence meeting for Laxman on Friday. When asked about it, BJP leaders sought to wriggle out saying senior party leaders will attend the function.

Party Time

A group of former central armed police forces (CAPF) personnel have launched a new political party. The group, which till now was lobbying for benefits for former paramilitary officials on the lines of ex-servicemen, has decided to contest all LS seats. The party is called Ex Sainik Kissan Party as it consists of many paramilitary personnel who come from agricultural fields.

Trust Deficit

There were some fireworks at the NSA-level talks on maritime security among India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, in which Mauritius and Seychelles also participated as observers. It turns out Sri Lanka raised the issue of a proposal being moved by Mauritius against it in the UN Human Rights Commission. The Sri Lankan interlocutor said for this kind of maritime cooperation, they need “trust” and Colombo was concerned Mauritius is co-sponsoring a resolution in UNHRC. But there was no further discussion on it, with NSA Shivshankar Menon skillfully steering the conversation back to the subject of maritime security.

Shifing Home

TMC MP Derek O’Brien has decided to shift from 190, South Avenue to a similar flat nearby. Sources said the decision was taken by the party high command. It turns out that Mamata Banerjee had desired that someone from her party occupy the first floor flat right above the ground floor flat of 181, South Avenue, which is allotted to Mukul Roy and serves as a party office and her home when she is in Delhi. The hitch was the first floor flat belonged to the LS pool and Derek is a RS MP. But recently the party took special permission to get that flat allotted to the RS pool and now Derek is ready to move in.

Code Wary:

Blame it on the model code of conduct. Vice-President Hamid Ansari released the Russian version of Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily’s novel on Karnataka’s Koraga tribes — ‘On to the Great beyond’. But, unlike his other book release functions, Moily chose to let it be a subdued event. So much so that he stayed away from the dais and no one spoke on the book except Dr B Divya Sunitha Raj, who translated the novel in the Russian language. An equally cautious Raj commended ‘the author’ for his great work, without so much as mentioning Moily’s name.