Is steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal conducting some Track II diplomacy between India and Pakistan? The stepbrother of former Congress MP Naveen Jindal was a guest at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s birthday and granddaughter’s wedding on 25 December, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore to wish Sharif. Jindal runs a steel business with Sharif’s family in Dubai and is a personal friend. When Sharif had come to Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, the only personal visit he had made was to Sajjan Jindal’s house. His presence in Lahore has had many asking if he had a role to play in fixing the meeting between the two PMs.
Manish Tewari set to replace Gill in RS
Manish Tewari, Information and Broadcasting Minister in the erstwhile UPA government, could not contest the Lok Sabha elections from Punjab in 2014 because of illness. He is now all set to replace K.P.S. Gill in Rajya Sabha from Punjab, as the Congress needs more “political people” in the Upper House. Gill, a former Punjab DGP, does not fit the bill. Congress’ three RS seats from Punjab will be vacated in April. Ambika Soni, whose term expires in April, is likely to continue as she had played an active role in convincing a reluctant Rahul Gandhi to make Captain Amarinder Singh the Pradesh Congress president in place of Partap Singh Bajwa; and Soni is close to both Amarinder Singh and the Gandhis. The third RS member who will retire in April is Ashwani Kumar. He is being backed by Manmohan Singh, but does not have many friends in the party. If he fails to get a re-nomination, he might be replaced by Preneet Kaur, Amarinder Singh’s wife. But this will happen only if she does not contest from Amritsar, the Lok Sabha seat which will be vacated by her husband, who will contest from her Patiala Assembly seat.
Rahul upset with Prithviraj
There is speculation over former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan continuing in the party as Rahul Gandhi is upset with him over his recent utterances. Chavan criticised Rahul’s “passive” role in Parliament, saying that the latter needed to be more aggressive and focus on his body language to improve his credibility among the masses. Chavan seems to be angry that he has been sidelined. He was lobbying to get a post either as Pradesh Congress Committee chief or Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. However, Maharashtra leaders are opposed to his elevation as they blame him for the party’s defeat in the state. Chavan is now isolated in the Assembly, with not a single MLA standing by him. He made the nine-time MLA from Karar vacate his seat for him. However, though he was the CM, he did not canvass for any candidate in the run-up to the Assembly elections. As a result, he does not have a single supporter in the state.
Unani dispensaries in bad shape
Paucity of medicines and pharmacists has rendered government-run Unani dispensaries in the national capital defunct. Even the dispensary in the posh South Avenue, meant for VIPs and MPs, has not had any new stock of medicines, not even for common cold and fever in the last six months. “When I cannot cure a patient of simple cold, why am I sitting here?” asks the doctor there. The dispensary also does not have a pharmacist.
Taslima may not get citizenship
It is unlikely that Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen will get an Indian citizenship, the way Pakistani singer Adnan Sami got it. The Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government is against the same, as giving citizenship to Taslima will lower Dhaka’s “image” considerably and will lend credence to the charge that Bangladesh cannot protect the democratic rights of its “liberal voices”.