New Look for DD
Smriti Irani, who took over as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting last month, has decided to give a new look to national television broadcaster Doordarshan. From new wardrobes for news anchors to swanky newsrooms, Irani—a former model, TV actress and producer who is well-versed with the camera—has asked Doordarshan to do the makeover at the earliest.
Judicious Words
The Sahara versus Securities and Exchange Board of India hearing at the Supreme Court saw interesting an exchange of words between senior advocate Kapil Sibal and designated Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. On Sibal saying “I have practised for 30-40 years in courts, but wasn’t declined reasonable request (of staying the auction of Sahara’s Aamby Valley project), Justice Misra retorted, “So what, I’ve been here for 30-40 years too.”
14 top politicians have been charged by the CBI in the first half of 2017, as against six in the corresponding period last year. In all, 115 politicians are facing trial in CBI cases.
Hop, Skip and Jump
Union Minister for Defence and Finance Arun Jaitley is rather media savvy, but this time he chose to avoid journalists swarming outside the Election Commssion (EC) office during the Vice-Presidential poll. While a BJP delegation comprising Union ministers had already approached the EC, Jaitley skipped the waiting journalists and slipped into the EC office through a side entrance.
Tough Luck
Parliament comes before journalists for Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan. While he wanted to brief the media about his ministry’s achievements ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle, he was forced to cancel at least three press conferences as he was urgently needed to attend to assignments in Parliament. Paswan seems oblivious to the fact that ministers avoid holding formal press meets during Parliament sessions.
TOOTH & NAIL
“Overall, the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought. There is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity creeping in.” - Hamid Ansari, outgoing Vice-President of India
“There is a propaganda about so called tolerance and intolerance. India is the most tolerant country in the world. We have never come to intolerance, and that is the philosophy of the nation.” - M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India elect