Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Structural changes
More than two months since P Chidambaram shifted from one side of the North Block to the other,the Home Ministry is still carrying out one of his initial instructions. Immediately after he had become the Home Minister,Chidambaram had ordered the demolition of ugly temporary structures that had been built in two of the forecourts of the ministry to accommodate more offices,and instructed that the areas be restored to their original architecture. The structures in the two forecourts were a big eyesore for visitors. While one of the forecourts,right below the Home Ministers office,was demolished promptly and beautified with small lawns and fountains,the other forecourt had remained as it is for almost four years,throughout Chidambarams tenure as Home Minister. Now,after Chidambarams movement to the Finance Ministry,work has finally begun to restore the other forecourt as well.
FOR the BJP,there was a definite sense of deja vu. BJP leader in-charge of Gujarat,Balbir Punj,has managed to take the spotlight away from Narendra Modi and on to Sangh Parivar ideologue S Gurumurthy by ending his long disconnect with the BJP. Punjs initiative,the Swami Vivekanand Study Circle,got Gurumurthy to speak to BJP workers at the party headquarters on Saturday. The RSS ideologue candidly revealed that it was after a gap of 18 years he has come to address BJP leaders and workers. Gurumurthy,consequently,got a befitting place on the dais with party president Nitin Gadkari and party patriarch L K Advani alongside him. Advani praised Gurumurthys speech on Globalisation and Indian Society as one of the most original speeches he heard in a long time.
Flight Cancelled
HOME Minister Sushilkumar Shinde wanted to fly but could not. To attend the function at the NSG Raising Day ceremony in Manesar last week,Shinde requisitioned the helicopter of the Border Security Force,in order to avoid the chaotic traffic on that route. It so happened that all the helicopters meant for VVIPs were undergoing maintenance due to one reason or the other. An unprepared BSF had not been able to foresee a situation like this. Left with no other option,Shinde had to travel by road to Manesar.
Prize Post
SENIOR bureaucrats are queuing up for the top post in the Enforcement Directorate. The agency has recently started the selection process of a special director for its zonal office at Mumbai. As many as 35 applications from IPS officers and other cadres have been received so far. Considering the high profile cases that the zone is handling,the ED has recently upgraded the Mumbai office and wants to post a special director which is yet to be sanctioned. The office used to be earlier headed by a joint director level officer who used to report to ED headquarters at New Delhi.
Legal Sanction
IN their hour of need,Law Minister Salman Khurshid and his wife have put their faith in two former law officers of his ministry. The government deputed former additional solicitor general Vivek Tankha to appear on behalf of the Central government before the Allahabad High Court in a PIL filed by an activist seeking action in the alleged irregularities by Khurshids family-run trust in Uttar Pradesh. Another former ASG,Parag Tripathi,appeared for his wife before the Delhi High Court in a defamation case filed by her against India Today group. Incidentally,both law officers opted out of their government jobs before the end of their three year term earlier this year.
