Kissa credit ka/Credit Tales
Who shot the Ashokan Lions in the National Capital
A new tussle has emerged over the national emblem unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the roof of the new Parliament building last week. To capture the function of the unveiling, 10 television cameras were used at the venue. This was to cover the Prime Minister’s arrival, the performing of pooja, unveiling the emblem and then his informal chat with the workers before departing. Sources said no private television channels or news agencies were allowed to shoot the event. Only the two public sector broadcasters — Doordarshan and Sansad TV — were given permission. Six cameras were put up by Doordarshan and four by Sansad TV. Together, the two broadcasters shot about one-and-half hours of footage. But the feed that was eventually released to the private TV channels gave credit to the private-owned news agency ANI. The ANI buys feed from the public broadcasters. But according to sources, no payment was made for this particular coverage till the time this article was written. As a result, the DD and Sansad TV, whose crew and editors had worked hard to plan and execute the coverage, neither got the credit nor the money.
Party Politics
DKS, Pilot, Singhdeo refuse Cong vice-presidentship
The troubles of the Congress party are refusing to end. Party seniors in key states are locked in intense infighting. The central leadership’s attempts to douse the flames have yielded no result. The fight between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former state unit president of the party Sachin Pilot have continued to hog the headlines for months. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel too has been kept on his toes by his senior minister and party colleague T S Singhdeo. In Karnataka, where the party is not in power, state Congress president D K Shivakumar shares a frosty relationship with former chief minister and leader of the opposition in state assembly Siddaramaiah. Assembly elections to elect new governments are due next year in these three states. Among the many formulas tried by the Congress central leadership to diffuse the tension between its state leaders, one was to offer AICC vice-presidentship to D K Shivakumar, Sachin Pilot and T S Singhdeo. None of the three, however, accepted the offer. They told the party leadership that they would prefer to work in the state and did not wish to move to Delhi. They have also made their intention clear that they want the chief minister’s chair after the election next year. The trouble that the central leadership faces is that the party cannot hope to win next year’s election if the leaders continue working against each other and having public spats. The new party president who is likely to be elected in the next two months has his job cut out.
PSU blues
Ananthakrishnan, Sajal Prakash lead race to head HAL
The state-run helicopter and fighter aircraft maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), would soon have a new chairman and managing director (CMD). The term of current CMD Ramakrishnan Madhavan ends on July 31 this year. Sources said that the two senior HAL executives C B Ananthakrishnan, who is currently serving as finance director, and Sajal Prakash, CEO of the company’s Accessories Complex, are the top contenders to replace Madhavan. Madhavan is unlikely to get an extension as his stewardship of the company since September 2018 saw delivery delays, labour strikes and payment holdup by the Indian Air Force, which is HAL’s largest client. HAL has, however, continued to bag big orders and enjoy the sole monopoly for manufacturing fighters and helicopters in India by virtue of being a government-controlled company. The production slowdown is attributed by some to Covid-19, economic depression, downsising of the defence budget, and supply chain disruptions. The change of guard is nevertheless certain. The process of finding a replacement for an executive in the government sector normally starts a few months before his retiring date. But the government is yet to initiate the search for a new HAL CMD. The selection of a new CMD is to be done by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), a body responsible for the selection of all top executives of the public sector companies. In order to improve the functioning of the PESB, the Union government had appointed prominent woman business tycoon Mallika Srinivasan, who heads the $1.5 billion private enterprise TAFE (Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited), as its head. But PESB is yet to advertise the post even with less than two weeks remaining for the current CMD’s retirement.