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IMAGINARY INTERVIEW WITH NAC CHAIRMAN-SONIA GANDHI

Recently my mobile has been giving me one shock after another. Yesterday I was shocked to get a call from Chairman NAC's Office:

Caller: Good morning… is that Mr. Bharat Kumar?

Me: Good morning….Yes
Caller: I'm Chairman NAC's Secretary and Madam would like to give you an interview. However, there are some rules by which you will have to abide. You will not badger her when she shows reluctance to answer a question, you will not reword the question she's refused to answer, you will not ask any personal questions and you will not ask any questions on Bofors!

Me: Isn't the last rule covered by the penultimate rule…… just joking… will try to abide by the rules!!

After a gap of a few minutes Sonia comes on the line:

Sonia: Good Morning

Me: Good morning Madam

Sonia: Please proceed with the interview

Me: Madam why during Obama's visit you kept yourself in the background?

Sonia: Moni….sorry Manmohan Ji was doing the needful and so I receded into the background!

Me: The perception is because US represents sheer capitalism and Obama heads a Nation that Muslims perceive as anti Muslim so you preferred not to link your name with this visit!

Sonia: But, Manmohan represents me!!

Me: Mohna Ji is going gaga over Obama's trip, doesn't this dent your majority minority and common man vote banks???

Sonia: Nothing of the sort!!

Me: I think this is where Diggy comes handy!! I asked Mohna ji this question too…… the timing of Chavan's and Kalmadi's sacking gives the wrong impression!!!

Sonia: It is not what it is being made out to be!!

Me: Kalmadi should have been sacked long time ago and Chavan should have been told to go when he offered to resign after this scandal broke out!!

Sonia: These are administrative matters and I'm sorry these comes under Manmohan Ji so please ask him. And I hope you abide by the rules my Secretary spelled out prior to this interview ….rule number one…. you will not badger me!

Me: Okay Madam. Now what about Raja?????

Sonia: What about him????

Me: It is very clear that he's caused a huge loss to the Nation!

Sonia: I'm not in the know of the details…. whatever I know is from the newspapers and one cannot react based on newspaper reports!

Me: Madam the perception is that Congress wants him to go but cannot because Raja is in Mohna's Cabinet not at Mohna's pleasure but at Karuna's pleasure!!

Sonia: Again I have to invoke rule 1…. no badgering!!

Me: Chalo…… isn't the Nation paying a huge price for coalition politics????
Sonia: Sorry please refer to rule 2 you cannot reword a question I've refused to answer!!

Me: What do you have to say about Sudarshan's statement????
Sonia: He should not let his love for detective novels impinge on his politics!! And no more questions on this issue… rule 2!!!

Me: Do you have any Congress leader who you can repose the same trust as you repose in Mohna???

Sonia: Frankly no!!

Me: Then shouldn't Rahul start the process of taking over????

Sonia: Here I am to blame…. when he was a kid I used to narrate the 'hare and tortoise' story to him practically every night!!! He identifies with the tortoise and that's why he believes in being slow and steady!!

Me: Though I'm flouting rule number 3 but 'steady' reminds me … is he following same story in his love life…. there were rumors that he was going steady!! When does he plan to get married???

Sonia: (in her Hintalian accent) Begani shaadhi mein Omar diwaana!!

Me: It is begaani shaadhi mein Abdullah diwana!!

Sonia: I'll give you leeway on this one…… I too want him to get married but he seems to have set some target before he ties the knot!!!

Me: Is the target that he will stay in 100 Dalit homes….. or he'll do a political Bharat Darshan …….. or he'll win UP…… before tying the knot???

Sonia: I do not have a clue about what target he's set???

Me: Tell me if you were given another chance would you like to relive this life????

Sonia: Again a personal question but I'll answer it….. in bits and pieces… never in its entirety!!!

Me: And now I invoke your rule number 1 on myself.... bye.... namaste..... ciao!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Business house loses to Rahul Gandhi's veto
A renowned business House which has put at stakes all its resources to see that Sushil Kumar Shinde is anointed as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra ultimately lost to Rahul Gandhi's demand for an honest person to be settled on the seat and thus the choice fell on the present incumbent Prithviraj Chavan.

Bureaucracy

1977 batch IAS to get in-situ promotions in January
1977 batch IAS officers are going to get in-situ promotions to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India in January.D K Mittal will be the first officer of this batch to get promotion. He may be appointed Secretary Health .
Khullar to be JS DEA !
Rajesh Kumar Khullar is being tipped to be Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. He is 1988 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.
Kaun Banega SBI CMD (1)
O.P.Bhat's term as SBI's CMD to conclude in 2011
Term of O.P.Bhat as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the State
Bank of India (SBI) is going to end on March 7, 2011. Who will be new CMD ?.
Punjab Government in bad shape
Financial condition of Punjab has further deteriorated after shifting of many industrial units to Himachal Pradesh following the announcement of a tax holiday for hilly states. The state has been reeling under debt. It had a debt of Rs11,000 crore in 1993-94 and now it reportedly stands at an enormous Rs71,000 crore.
Appointment of Marapandiyan runs in rough weather ?
Appointment of P Marapandiyan as Chairman of the Goa Port Trust has reportedly run into a rough weather. He is 1984 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
Six JS level posts likely to be vacant in Commerce Ministry
There are going to be half a dozen Joint Secretary level vacancies in the Ministry of Commerce next year.

Rann Utsav evokes a very good response from tourists
Believe it or not the Rann Utsav of the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) to be held from December 19, 2010 in Dhordo in Kucth district of Gujarat is proving to be a very big draw. All 400 tents (including 150 air-conditioned ) have been booked for the first three days. This is a major achievement more ways than one " because till last year we had to beg people to go," said Vipul Mitra Secretary Tourism to the Gujarat government. Vipul Mitra who is an IAS officer of the 1986 batch & belongs to the Gujarat cadre. It may be stated here that Vipul Mitra was instrumental in getting Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan i.e. "Big- B" as TGCL's brand ambassador.
R.L. Koli gets additional charge
R.L. Koli, Additional Secretary in central government's Ministry of Law and Justic will also looking after the additional charge of arbitration. He is a Legal Service background officer.
Official Communication of Sinha yet to reach RBI
Official communication of the appointment of Anand Sinha as Deputy Governor of the RBI is yet to reach the bank.
Swain empanelled in GoI
B B Swain is reported to have been empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary in Government of India. He is 1988 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
U S Paliwal tipped to be ED, National Housing Bank
U S Paliwal is tipped to be an Executive Director (ED) with the National Housing Bank (NHB). Presently he is a Chief General Manager (CGM) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
SC collegium defers decision to review transfer policy
The Supreme Court collegium has decided to put on hold its decision to review the nearly two decades-old transfer policy that the Chief Justice of a High Court must be from outside the State. The collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia and Justices Altamas Kabir, R.V. Raveendran, Dalveer Bhandari and D.K. Jain, has decided to continue the present system of having the Chief Justice from outside the State.
SBI official Vijuy Ronjan transferred
Vijuy Ronjan, Assistant General Manager, Jamshedpur has been posted as Deputy General Manager, Chandigarh Circle.
Shortage of 60 IPS officers in Orissa
Orissa is short of 60 Indian Police Service officers.
IA&AS officer Gupta transferred
T N Gupta, Deputy Accountant General (Admn/Pens) in the office of Accountant General (A&E)-II, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad is being transferred and posted as Deputy Accountant General (Funds), in the office of Principal Accountant General (A&E)-I, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad.
Satish Golcha to attend 51st NDC course
Satish Golcha, IPS(AGMU:1992), DIG, CBI has been selected for the 51st NDC course scheduled to commence in Delhi on January 10,2011.
Cadre of IFS officer re-allocated
Cadre of Millo Tasser has been re-allocated from Nagaland to UT cadre.Millo is 2008 batch IFS officer.
Tyagi felicitated by IIT Roorkee
CMD of the Pawan Hans R K Tyagi was felicitated as "Distinguished Allumni" by IIT Roorkee at the convocation for outstanding conytribution in the field of Social Sciences/Engineering and Public Administration.
Interviews for CIL's chief on November 25, 2010
Interviews for the post of Chairman, Coal India Ltd (CIL) will be held on November 25, 2010.
Dr Mahboob Alam is new IG (Operations ) CRPF
Dr Mahboob Alam is new IG (Operations) in the CRPF Headquarters. He is 1981 batch IPS officer of TamilNadu cadre.
Rizvi is IG CRPF Northern Sector
M S Rizvi has taken over as IG CRPF Northern Sector. He is a CRPF cadre officer.
Deepak Mishra IPS, joins at new place

Deepak Mishra has joined on the new post of Joint Commissioner of Police (Operation) at Headquarter, Delhi. He is an IPS officer of the 1984 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Ashok Chand IPS, shifted to a new place
Ashok Chand, DCP (Recruitment Cell), Delhi Police has been transferred to DCP (Crime), Delhi Police.He is an IPS officer of the 1998 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.
Now no weekly off in Pakistani Punjab
Government of Pakistani Punjab has decided to call off the system of 5 days' week in its offices w.e.f 27 November 2010. The weekly off on Saturdays is being discontinued. Government has also introduced new office timings effective from the same date and these are from 8 am to 3 pm on Monday to Thursday and Saturday and 8 am to 12 noon on
Jain to continue ?
It is believed that A K Jain because of his good image will continue to be an important functionary in the regime of new Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan. He is 1982 batch IAS officer.
Sarangi unlikely to be ACS Home in Maharashtra ?
Deputation tenure of NABARD Chairman is coming to an end this month.In case he returns to the parent Maharashtra cadre 1977 batch IAS officer is unlikely to succeed Ms Chandra Iyengar as ACS home.People say reason is simple-he had been Principal Secretary to former Maharashtra CM Vilas Rao Deshmukh.
BMC to have new Commissioner
It is widely believed that a new Commissioner of Mumbai Municipal Corporation will be appointed in place of Swadheen Kshtriya. He is 1980 batch IAS officer.
Gaikwad to get good assignment
Bureaucratic circles feel that Ratnakar Gaikwad will get important assignment in the regime of Prithviraj Chauhan. He is 1975 batch IAS officer.
Kumar to get important assignment
Sanjeev Kumar is going to get important assignment in the new CMs Secretariat in Maharashtra. He is 1993 batch IAS officer.
Mumbai Police Commissioner to continue
Mumbai Police Commissioner S S Dayal is going to continue in the new regime.1977 batch IPS officer Dayal is considered to be straightforward with no political leaning.
IPS officer to look after flagship scheme in Maharashtra ?
An IPS officer of 1988 batch Venkateshan is likely to be posted to look after implementation of proposed new flagship scheme of Health Dept of Govt of Maharashtra. The scheme will be named as Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Yojana and would cover about 80% of population and is based on similar scheme in AP. However there is some discontent in IAS officers for removing one more post from their kitty.
Counting of votes in Bihar on November 24, 201
As date for counting of votes and declaration of result of Bihar Assembly Election i.e. November 24, 2010 draws close the Governor of Bihar is getting more active. In this context he met Home Minister and Law Minister of Government of India.

Interviews for BPCL's Director,Marketing today
Interviews for the slot of Director Marketing of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are going to be held on November 15, 2010. Five insiders are in fray. They are: K.K. Gupta, S. Ramesh, R.K. Mehra, Anurag Deepak (all four Executive Directors) and P.C. Shrivastava General Manager. Of them K.K. Gupta is the senior most.
Rajan Katoch joins GoI as AS and FA Commerce
Rajan Katoch has joined the Government of India on Monday as Additional Secretary and FA in the Ministry of Commerce. He is 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

(We said this on October 23 )
L.K.Singhvi Member PNGRB to demit office on November 16, 2010
L.K.Singhvi,Member(Commercial) Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) will be demitting office on November 16, 2010.
Brij Mohan Bansal IOC chief no.1 for PNGRB's Member
Brij Mohan Bansal Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is number one in panel for the slot of (Commercial)Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
1950 batch IAS is no more
Maheshwar Prasad topper of the 1950 batch of the IAS has passed away in Delhi at the age of 84.
Manju Pandey is CVO of IRCTC
Manju Pandey has been appointed new CVO in the Indian Railways catering and Toursim Corporation (IRCTC) .She is 1989 batch IPoS officer.
Mishra is new CVO OF Paradip Port Trust
Kashi Nath Mishra has been appointed as the CVO in the Paradip Port Trust, Paradip. He is 1983 batch AFHO officer.
Anil Singhal is now CTE in CVC
Anil Singhal has been appointed as Chief Technical Examiner in the Central Vigilance Commission.He is 1978 batch IRSS officer.
B.C. Gupta joins as Secretary Food
Newly appointed Food Secretary B.C. Gupta will joined the Government of India (GOI) on central deputation on November 15, 2010. Gupta is an IAS officer of the 1975 batch who belongs to the Punjab cadre.
(We said this on November 8 )
K.K. Gupta no.1 for BPCL's Director Marketing
As the grapevine has it K.K.Gupta is number one in panel for the slot of Director Marketing in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) interviews for which were held on November 15, 2010. He is presently Executive Directive (ED) Retail in BPCL

RTI
Failure to disclose suo-motu

The appellant had sought the names and postings of all the physiotherapists in all the MCD Hospital along with certain other information. The CPIO informed that the letter has been circulated to all Major Hospitals and the information will be provided as and when received from the hospitals. The CIC observed that as per Section 4(1)
(b) (ix) of the RTI Act, this information should have been available suo-motu on the website. The CIC held that the appellant has been put to unnecessary trouble and harassment for having to ask for this information in RTI and pursuing it through appeals. Holding it as a major failure in the working, the CIC awarded a compensation of Rs.
4000/- to the appellant apart from issuing a show cause notice to the PIO for imposing penalty.

Comments

Through this column, it has been argued in the past that violation of section 4 can be challenged before the CIC. The section 4 (1)(d) directs all the Public Authorities to give reasons for their administrative decisions to affected persons. Administrative decisions
include a wide range of orders like transfers, vigilance matters etc. Most public authorities seldom give the reasons for their action. This order has set a precedent for filing complaints before the Commission whenever there is a violation of any of the sub-sections of the section 4.

[Mr. Y Paul v. MCD in Decision No. CIC/SG/A/2010/002652/10022]

- Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and
Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE by
Taxmann. (The views are Personal)

CORPORATE
Steel Pavilion at IITF 2010 inaugurated
S. Machendranathan Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor to the central government's Ministry of Steel inaugurated the steel pavilion at India International Trade Fair 2010, in Hall no. 18, Pragati Maidan Delhi on November 14, 2010. In the fortnightly fair which begins today, the pavilion is based on the contemporary theme of clean and energy efficient technology products & services. Speaking on the occasion, AS & FA Machendranathan said, "It is indeed a pleasure to note that like the preceding years, the steel pavilion of the Steel Ministry has found its pride of place in the IITF in 2010. The pavilion has been able to make a mark of its own and has helped demonstrate to all, the supreme versatility of steel." Interestingly, Steel Pavilion of IITF 2010 has a lot more in store for visitors than just steel. Various shows have been organized for the entertainment of people such as magic shows, music-band quizzes, talking dolls etc on a daily basis. The inaugural function of the Steel Pavilion was also marked with a cultural programme where professional dancers danced to the tune of south Indian classical music to create a melodious beginning.
Mallikarjun Kharge, opens ESIC's hospital in Karnataka
Mallikarjun Kharge Indian Minister for Labour & Employment had inaugurated a modernized ESIC Model Hospital (first phase) at Rajajinagar, Bangalore (Karnataka) on November 13, 2010. This Hospital is the first ESIC Hospital where work of odernization and upgradation (first phase) has been completed and which is now state-of-art Hospital comparable to international standard; to be opened for the ESI beneficiaries. As a part of the initiative for providing the best medical facilities in ESI Hospitals and to compete with private medical hospitals, ESI Corporation has started to upgrade and modernize its existing ESIC Hospitals, one of which is this state-of-the-art Hospital at Rajajinagar, Bangalore. This ISO certified ESIC Model Hospital will have a capacity of 500 beds. K.
Rahman Khan Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha presided the function. The Chief Guest of the function was B.N. Bachegowda Minister for Labour with the Karnataka government. The inaugural ceremony had the presence of S. Suresh Kumar Minister for Law, Justice, Human Rights, Urban Development, to Government of Karnataka, Chandra Kant Khaire Member of Parliament and Member ESI Corporation Narendar Babu, Ms. Motamma Leader of Opposition Legislative Assembly, Karnataka, Prabhat C. Chaturvedi Secretary in Ministry of Labour & Employment to Government of India, Dr. C.S. Kedar Director General (DG) ESIC , Ramesh Zalki Secretary, Labour Government of Karnataka, S.K. Nataraj Mayor BBMP M. Nagaraj, Opposition leader BBMP. With the passage of time, Corporation now owns a huge infrastructure and provides benefit through 146 Hospitals, 42 hospitals Annexes, 1388 ESI Dispensaries, 1678 Panel Clinics, 797 branch/pay offices and 52 Regional/Sub-Regional/Divisional offices.

Lepps resigns as ED Store One Retail
Anil Lepps, Executive Director, Store One Retail India Ltd has resigned from the office of Director of the company.
Mehlawat designated ED Store One Retail
Abhimanyu Mehlawat has been appointed as Director, Store One Retail India Ltd and designated as an Executive Director, with effect from November 13, 2010.
Chandak re-appointed ED
West Coast Paper Mills Limited has re-appointed K.L.Chandak as Executive Director of the Company for a further period of three years w.e.f. December 1, 2010.
Taparia appointed as Addl. Director
West Coast Paper Mills Limited has appointed M.P.Taparia as Additional Director of the Company.
Hotel Leela Venture CFO resigns
The Board of Hotel Leela Venture Limited has accepted the resignation
of V.L.Ganesh, Director - Finance and Chief Financial Officer and also
from the directorship of the Company with immediate effect.
Pai re-designated as Chairman
ICDS Limited has re-designated T.Mohandas Pai, Whole-time Director as
Chairman of the Company.
Jain appointed Director SKP Overseas
Pramod Kumar Jain, CFO and Company Secretary of Rohit Ferro-Tech Ltd has been appointed as a Director in its wholly owned subsidiary SKP Overseas Pte Ltd in Singapore.
Khanna to be Company Secy.
Nirmal Khanna is being appointed as a Company Secretary of Rohit Ferro-Tech Ltd w.e.f. November 12, 2010 to replace Pramod Kumar Jain as the Company Secretary, and shall be treated as the Compliance Officer of the Company.
Brugger appointed CFO
Federal-Mogul Goetze (India) Limited appointed Dan Brugger, present CFO as the Finance Director and CFO of the Company.
Anil Ramachandran is new official in Indus Bank
Anil Ramachandran has been appointed by the Indus Bank as its Head of Credit Cards Business. Ramachandran was earlier with Deutsche Bank .
Parigi is Sr Advisor and Consultant, Accel Transmatic Ltd
Accel Transmatic Ltd has appointed AP Parigi as Senior Advisor and Consultant, who will advise them on all media, animation, VFX and gaming related matters. He will also be the Chairman of Accel Media Ventures Ltd (a group company) and Corporate Advisor to the Accel Group.

FORUM
(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)

They are corrupt

Raja and his party is very corrupt in Tamil Nadu. Even Earlier Telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran has amassed wealth. All their empire is built on corruption. Even Sarkaria Commission has indicted Karunanidhi. It is well known that many ministers of both the Dravidian parties amass wealth during their tenures. The internal family feud of MK was over Sun TV wealth booty now segregated amongst his clan. All have become Cinema producers with black money. Chidambaram is biased. He wants some roots in TN which he is totally lacking. His support to DMK is to shore up his son in youth Congress. These are unabashed Dravidian ministers will not resign till they are dismissed. They consider themselves as separate from India. Even DMK has passed several resolutions for separation of TN from India. They have become silent when they get booty.

Venkat


Amazing !

I wonder how an astute politician like Ms. Jayalalitha can over look the fact that Sri Raja is only a dummy in the whole Spectrun 2G scam. The PM facilitated the scam by acceding to Raja's demand for changing the honest Secretary. The Congress silence now over the scam and also its support to Sri.Raja in the SC show its full involvement in the scam at the highest level. No one can be blamed if one suspects Sonia-Karunanidhi nexus in the whole episode. Now when the crescendo for the removal of Raja reaches the highest pitch, Karunanidhi will coolly remove Raja and put his own Kanimozhi in the post. The rule and the loot will continue. The opposition is on a wild goose chase by concentrating on a small fry like Raja instead of targeting Sonia Gandhi and Karunanidhi. This also calls for an overhaul of the anti-corruption system in our country.

N Krishnan


Is he not humiliating Dalits ?

It is being said that Karunanidhi is wanting Raja to continue because he is a Dalit and that his sacking will mar DMK's chances of victory amongst Dalit voters. If this assessment of Karunanidhi is right, is he not humiliating Dalits? Is he suggesting that dalits as a group are so blind that they will support any candidate of theirs irrespective of his reputation and clean record. Is he implying all Dalits are corrupt and will vote for their caste member blindly? Don't Dalits have value systems and interest of the nation at heart? Should not Dalit groups protest such posturing by politicians about their preferences and voting behaviours? Surely they too have character, value systems, principles and leaders who will uphold their dignity and fight such labelling and branding by unscrupulous politicians?

S A Narayan