At an “urgent” Congress meeting in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge pulled up senior Madhya Pradesh leaders, including Jitu Patwari, over the handling of Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination, which was eventually rejected. The buzz is around claims that details of a pending Hyderabad court complaint against Natarajan travelled from a Telangana Congress leader to a MP counterpart before finding their way into BJP hands. This, amid whispers about Telangana in-charge Natarajan’s strained equations with CM Revanth Reddy. Jharkhand RS poll observers, including Bhupesh Baghel, also came under scrutiny for coordination issues with allies. The party is also worried about the Cockroach Janata Party’s appeal among younger voters and is working on a more efficient campaign strategy.
Doctor cadre, still waiting
The idea of an All-India Medical Service (AIMS) — a national cadre of doctors on the lines of the IAS and IPS — continues to do the rounds nearly seven years after it first surfaced. The Centre has once again said the proposal is under consideration. That consideration has been fairly long. Even when the idea was first floated, Parliament was told that consultations with states were already underway. According to sources, the proposal is still at the “examination stage”, with inputs coming in. Only after that exercise is completed will it move to the DoPT for the next round of consideration. For now, AIMS remains an idea steadily travelling through the government system.
Who gets NITI corner room?
A small guessing game is underway in government circles over who will be NITI Aayog’s next full-time CEO. One name that keeps cropping up is that of Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anurag Jain. A 1989-batch IAS officer, Jain is currently on extension till August 31, 2026, and is often counted among the Prime Minister’s trusted officers. Meanwhile, Nidhi Chhiber of the 1994-batch Chhattisgarh cadre continues to handle the body, holding additional charge as CEO following BVR Subrahmanyam’s exit in February. No official word yet on who gets the job. But as often happens in Delhi, the speculation has arrived well before the announcement, and the corridor conversations are already in full swing.
Battle for the students
The NEET paper leak controversy may have left the examination halls, but it is still keeping political war rooms busy. While the Opposition continues its campaign around alleged exam irregularities, BJP strategists are said to be working on an outreach plan of their own. The idea is to connect directly with students and aspirants affected by the episode — on campuses, in schools, and at coaching hubs where doctor-aspirants spend more time on mock tests than on sleep. The message is expected to focus on the government’s response, from handing the probe to the CBI to tightening safeguards against a repeat. In other words, both sides are now chasing the same audience: India’s stressed, sleep-deprived and politically aware student community.
A little extra France
There seems to be a little extra France in store for PM Modi at the G7 Summit. In a rare move, France has brought India into six different tracks of the summit—an unusually wide seat at the table for a guest country. Modi is set to deliver the keynote address at VivaTech, Europe’s biggest technology and startup event, returning to the platform after five years. Interestingly, nothing official yet, but the gupshup around a future VivaTech India edition is getting louder. So, while the summit will have its share of traditional talking points, the bilateral agenda, from diplomacy to digital deals, seems to be doing a fair bit of travelling on its own.
The case of static posts
The spotlight is once again on sensitive postings within the CPWD after a recent audit by the Central Vigilance Commission revealed a striking gap between policy and implementation. Of the 1,641 posts identified for rotation this year, only 39 had been changed by March, leaving 1,602 officials still in place. The CVC has now directed the department to complete the exercise on priority and submit an ATR within two weeks. The rotation policy is designed to prevent officials from remaining too long in sensitive positions where risks of vested interests, misuse of authority and complaints may increase. Vigilance authorities have repeatedly stressed that regular transfers are essential for transparency and reducing opportunities for irregularities in government functioning.