Not so tweet
Haryana Chief minister ML Khattar is getting increasingly infuriated with the mischievous tweets of his health minister Anil Vij. A five-time MLA, Vij was a strong contender for the chief minister’s post, but Khattar, a newcomer to electoral politics, was appointed instead. Vij’s latest offending tweet was his support for IAS officer Ashok Khemka who was transferred for the 46th time. But some of Vij’s earlier tweets can also be interpreted as innuendoes against the chief minister. For instance, after the Delhi election, he tweeted that by importing an outsider as a leader instead of picking from the ranks, the party had to suffer the defeat it did. On another occasion, Vij thanked the CM for taking an interest in his department, which was read as a veiled protest against Khattar’s interference in his portfolios. Another suspect tweet was the remark that some people wanted to stop him from doing his work the way he wanted, but they would not be successful. To refute suggestions that his tweets were aimed at anyone, Vij tweeted that in politics you have to face all types of obstacles. “But my tweets have not taken any names.’’
Son also rises
Shaurya Doval, who is the director of the India Foundation, manages to get a string of high-profile ministers to attend whenever his thinktank holds a conference or a seminar. Doval himself is much sought after as a speaker by various embassies and organisations and his subjects range from terrorism to national security. A major reason why Doval is considered an expert on these issues is that he happens to be the son of Ajit Doval, the national security adviser.
Exception to rule
The Modi government was quick to transfer out all officers who were working in key positions in the UPA government. But surprisingly, an exception was made in the case of the cabinet secretary, Ajit Seth, who will complete a year with the Modi government next month. Some feel that Seth’s services were retained because the PM wanted to understand the style of working of his predecessor. The names of two bureaucrats being mentioned as Seth’s likely successor are power secretary PK Sinha, a 1977 UP cadre officer, and finance secretary Rajiv Meherishi, a 1978 Rajasthan cadre office.
Security risk of e-files
The PMO has seriously considered ending the practice of ministers carrying files into cabinet meetings. It was felt that instead, all ministers should bring an iPad with all files transferred on to it. It seems, however, that both the national security adviser and the cabinet secretary are against the proposal since they feel there is a greater danger of leaks of e-deliberations in Cabinet.
Pot not to the point
An item on the agenda of a recent Cabinet meeting was to decide the fund from which the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should draw its budget. Several ministers waxed eloquent on the subject. Nitin Gadkari expounded on what he considered the best toilet designs. Maneka Gandhi wanted the toilets to be environmentally friendly. Uma Bharati warned that the Swachh Bharat campaign should not hamper the programme for cleaning the Ganga. After over half an hour of discussions, the Prime Minister intervened testily to say the question at hand was funding of the campaign and not toilets.
Powerful troika
Arun Jaitley’s presence on the dais at the BJP national executive meet in Bengaluru along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and LK Advani when the land bill and the coalition government in Kashmir were discussed raised eyebrows in the party. Particularly as Rajnath Singh, the presumed No. 2 in the Cabinet, was sitting in the audience along with Sushma Swaraj, Venkiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari.
Prima donna
Rashtrapati Bhavan limited the number of guests to a bare 30 for the function to award Atal Behari Vajpayee the Bharat Ratna at his residence. But LK Advani’s daughter Pratibha, whose father was one of the guests, insisted that she would also like to attend. The actual award presentation was held in the drawing room and only half a dozen persons, including the Vajpayee family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and LK Advani, were allowed to witness the President honouring Vajpayee. Other guests had to wait on the lawns. Pratibha wanted to accompany her father inside the house, but the SPG refused much to her annoyance.
Unflappable temperament
One reason why MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin is valued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a media adviser is that he seldom loses his cool. A group of journalists tried to play an April Fools’ day joke on him, bombarding him with queries on a series of imaginary events, including the suggestion that MoS VK Singh’s plane had been diverted and he had been taken hostage on his way to Yemen. The unflappable Akbaruddin patiently responded to each scribe’s question, saying he would get back after checking. Akbaruddin is relinquishing his present post to look after the India-African summit, which will be held in October in Delhi. Later, he is set to be appointed a mission head in a key country as a reward for his patience.
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