Delhi Confidential: His choices

Ambala: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on-board Sachkhand Express, on his way to Punjab, in Ambala on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s choice of leaders to accompany him on his recent tours has aroused the curiosity of party men.

While former minister and young leader Jitin Prasada accompanied Rahul when he trekked to Kedarnath shrine, Jyotiraditya Scindia and the young Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu were with him when he traveled to Punjab by train on Tuesday. One gets to hear that Rahul has asked chief of the party’s scheduled caste K Raju to accompany him during his padayatra in Maharasthra on Thursday. Prasada’s incidentally was among the names being speculated to become the next PCC chief of Uttar Pradesh. In Punjab too, there is talk of a young leader taking over from Partap Singh Bajwa.

Special efforts
When he met around 50 children who had been provided artificial limbs by an NGO in the Parliament Library Building on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have made a special effort to go make the children feel at ease. While shaking hands with a young boy, who had an artificial hand, the PM reportedly asked him to press his hand hard. As the boy was caught off guard, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan egged him on to do as the PM was saying. When a young girl with an artificial hand wrote some words on a board with her artificial hand, the PM told her that her handwriting was better than his.

Victory moment
Most Trinamool members stayed away from the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday — Sukhendu Sekhar Roy was present and chaired proceedings for some time — as the party celebrated its landslide victory in the West Bengal municipal polls. When party leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O’ Brien dropped in for few minutes, he was congratulated by most Opposition leaders. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and SP’s Ramgopal Yadav apparently sought to know from him whether the BJP had indeed come third after making lots of noise.

Deadline notice
The government has served a notice on around 30 MPs to vacate their rooms in the Ashoka Hotel where they have been staying despite being allotted official houses. The government has said Lok Sabha MPs must vacate by May 8 and Rajya Sabha MPs by May 13. MPs who overstay would have to pay the market rent for the rooms. There is a relaxation for those whose houses are under repair or not yet vacated.

Empty look
The was no dearth of pious platitudes from MPs when Parliament discussed agrarian crisis in the current session. However, when a bill to amend the Regional Rural Banks Act came up for debate in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the House wore an empty look. Only seven of the 68 members of the Congress were present. Seven of the 9 members of CPM were present. But the treasury benches had substantial attendance.

PMO watch strong
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a joint press briefing with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. He told the Afghan President that India will walk shoulder to shoulder with the Afghan people and that Ghani’s visit has added new momentum to the partnership between the two countries. Later in the day, Modi chaired the 41st AGM of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society. He suggested that NMML should attempt to maximise the use of technology to achieve a global presence. In the evening, the PM, in a tweet, described as a “proud achievement” the successful testing of an indigenous cryogenic engine. He said this would help India put satellites of up to four tonnes in geostationary orbit. .

Source:: Indian Express