By IANS,
New Delhi : Winds of change are steadily sweeping through the home ministry ever since P. Chidambaram took over last December. First he introduced the biometric attendance system in North Block to ensure punctuality. Then he began revamping the Intelligence Bureau by setting up the Multi-Agency Centre to analyse intelligence inputs on a real time basis.
Even his proposal of bifurcating the ministry, saying subjects not directly related to internal security must be dealt with by a separate ministry, has been welcomed.
But it is his suggestion that there should be a performance review of officers who have crossed 50 years of age that has got bureaucrats nervy and could stir a hornet’s nest amongst the country’s elite all-India services in the months to come.
Though Chidamabarm has sought the cooperation of officials, saying this would pave the way for better performers, it is not going to be an easy task. Babus are already complaining.
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Speculation already about next foreign secretary
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has set a frenetic pace for herself, travelling almost every week and then staying up late in the office till well past 10 p.m. or working weekends in order to catch up on file work. Even though she is at her job for one more year (she retires on Dec 31, 2010), speculation as usual has already begun in the corridors of South Block and in missions abroad about her successor.
Among the names doing the rounds are those of Hardeep Puri, India’s permanent representative at the United Nations; Alok Prasad, who spurned an ambassadorial posting to South Africa to become deputy national security adviser after his Colombo posting; and Ranjan Mathai, India’s ambassador to France.
Lakshmi Puri, Hardeep Puri’s wife, would also have been a formidable contender had it not been for the fact that she had opted out of the race some time ago to take up a UN assignment in Geneva on deputation from the Indian Foreign Service.
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Congress’ zero-tolerance of sex scandals
Sex scandals in Indian politics are not new. But when back-to-back incidents thumped the Congress, it obviously was a matter of serious concern and forced the party leadership to send out a diktat.
First, veteran Congress politician Narain Dutt Tiwari’s sexual indiscretions finally caught up with him when he had to resign as governor of Andhra Pradesh following an expose by a local television channel. Barely a few days earlier, a general secretary of the Congress party in Kerala, Rajmohan Unnithan, 57, was granted bail after he was held on charges of immoral trafficking for being found in the company of a woman under suspicious circumstances.
Congress insiders admit that such acts by senior leaders would impact on the ongoing organisational rejeuvenation campaign launched by the party’s gen-next leader, Rahul Gandhi. The party has now decided there will no leniency and it will follow a zero-tolerance policy.
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Amethi’s citizens head abroad
Uttar Pradesh is fast catching up in the number of its residents who go abroad. Apparently, there has been a surge from the state and even the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi agrees.
“That’s true. In fact, most of this is taking place from Amethi and around,” said Ravi. Now, scribes were not just content with that response and were obviously keen to know if the potential travelers from Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s constituency were heading off to Italy.
Not wanting to tread on tricky ground, Ravi, who was a bit a flustered, still managed to smile and quipped: “Not just Italy. They also go to central Europe.”
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Tharoor cashes in as Krishna dodges the media
S.M. Krishna, a veteran of Karnataka politics who is at the centre for the first time as the external affairs minister, has probably decided to steer clear of the media and let his junior with the gift of the gab give them the daily bytes they need.
The result is that even at cultural dos, TV channels hang around to get a quote or two from Shashi Tharoor, the minister of state for external affairs, on Pakistan, Headley or other newsy matters even though the function might be a book launch or even a sarod recital.
And when Krishna is at a lunch where even senior editors are present, he chooses to ignore them even though the invitation card is in his name A newspaper owner almost walked out of a recent lunch as Krishna not only arrived late but headed straight for the dining room without even greeting his guests, who included at least one junior minister.
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Visa blues, a la David Headley
The US and British embassies in New Delhi were in a tizzy over the confusion surrounding new regulations on long-term tourist visas. US embassy officials held a series of meetings with officials of the home and external affairs ministries, seeking clarifications. British High Commissioner Richard Stagg, in fact, wrote a letter to the MEA and followed it up with telephone calls to officials in South Block.
On its part, the US embassy posted a warden message citing specific instances of inconsistency in the way the new rules were implemented. The message cites several examples of the harrowing experience of some American visitors in the wake of the recent visa changes.
“One American family, visiting India for several weeks on 10-year, multiple entry tourist visas, had to return briefly to the US to attend a funeral. They were not permitted to re-enter India,” the message read.
Two days later, the warden message was replaced by a more factual account of visa regulations entitled “Travel alert.” Tales of woe and subtle persuasion seem to have worked, with the home ministry softening guidelines for bona fide visitors who wish to re-enter India after visiting a neighbouring country.
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New BJP chief’s wardrobe concerns
New Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari has a huge responsibility to rebuild the organisation, which is in shambles. But before he gets on with the job, he has other pressing concerns relating to his wardrobe. Hailing from the RSS stronghold of Nagpur, Gadkari is obviously used to a mild winter and is finding the Delhi chill tough to handle.
“I am new to the capital and do not even know its ways. I was not even aware that it’s so cold here in winter!” Gadkari exclaimed at his first press conference.
Gadkari, who is also the youngest chief of the BJP, is now being helped by his colleagues to pick up suitable attire. And in keeping with the credo of the party, Gadkari’s first call was at the Khadi Bhavan.
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A fog-free airport?
As certain as the change in seasons every year is the thick fog that descends over large parts of northern India come winter. And with equal regularity every year, airports, especially Delhi’s busy Indira Gandhi International Airport, turns into a battle zone with harried passengers and airlines officials cursing each other and the weather.
This time, airport officials can thank the weather gods as the fog has not descended. At least not for now.
Even if the fog does set in, the airport authorities are a more confident lot this time. For years now, the civil aviation authorities have promised to crack the whip and direct private airlines to train their pilots on the ILS Cat-III systems that help them fly in poor visibility and foggy conditions.
The authorities have now promised to deliver. Watch this space for more.
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Tailpiece: Guess who walked away with the lucky dip prize at the annual year-end do at the India Habitat Centre Saturday evening by external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash? It was the Hindi-speaking correspondent of China Radio International. Despite protestations that the draw was not fixed, sceptical scribes were ready to believe that this was a gesture by the foreign ministry, especially since the name was announced by none other than Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.