Gadkari’s High Way
Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari belileves that officers at regional transport offices will curse him for introducing the online registration and driving license services as now will not make money from vehicle owners, who won’t have to visit the offices any longer.
Clear Air Turbulence
An Indian bronze medallist at the recent Rio Olympics was not too happy with Air India giving her two complementary business class tickets to any international destination in the next year. At her felicitation function, the medallist quipped that the offer was only on Air India flights and whether the national carrier could offer her tickets on other airlines as well.
Kumar vs. Karat
JNU firebrand Kanhaiya Kumar was quite tongue-in-cheek when he asked CPI(M)’s former general secretary Prakash Karat to retire from active politics and go to America. What provoked the JNU leader was Karat’s statement that the BJP is not a fascist force and that it is only as dangerous as the Congress. The Karat acolytes, no wonder, are fuming and say that Kanhaiya wont say these kind of things without the tacit prodding of his godfather, who happens to be a known Karat baiter in the CPI(M). No prizes for guessing who.
Battle Stations
With the appointment of key Army commanders pending for two months, South Block is abuzz with speculations, allegations and counter-allegations. The Ministry of Defence claims that Army HQ has not come up with recommendations, while the Army says the ministry’s babus are sitting on files. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar’s frequent travelling is also one of the reasons for the delay in the key appointments.
TOOTH & NAIL
“By issuing such a statement, Kejriwal has exposed himself as a mere demagogue and mountebank who has nothing in his head.”
Markanday Katju, retired Supreme Court judge and former chairman of Press Council of India
“Sikhs have wanted for long for a holy city status for Anandpur Sahib, which AAP will give as soon as it is voted to power.”
Arvind Kejriwal, AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister
Going Off the Track
The Railways’ surge pricing for tickets in flagship trains hasn’t gone down well with some officials at Rail Bhawan. There are whispers about the reverses the Railways could suffer in terms of losing passengers to budget airlines. Though no one is willing to talk on record, an official raised the issue at an informal meeting with the Railway Board, saying the `500 crore which the Railways would gain would be “peanuts” for an organisation with an annual revenue of over `1 lakh crore. “Choose between `500 crore or be ready to witness empty seats in Rajdhanis and Shatabdis. The choice is yours,” he is believed to have said.