The minister who doesn’t hold meetings if the stars aren’t aligned
His ministry may not have any plans to introduce astrology as a part of the prime minister’s skill development scheme, as he informed Parliament recently, but Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey is certainly a big believer in it. Rumour has it that the minister consults his priest even for official meetings, and according to his advice, holds his morning meetings at 10:37am.
Pandey also has a small temple in the office, for which fresh flowers are brought every day.
Every other week, the minister also travels to Varanasi on spiritual quests, say ministry officials. They have, however, another grudge against him: Pandey, a PhD in Hindi, has asked them to write file notings in Hindi only, popularising the use of Google translator.
IIT & Columbia grad to spruce up AAP’s communications strategy
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, it seems, is not happy with his media managers. Although he has a media adviser, Nagendar Sharma, he has now drafted IIT-Madras and Columbia University alumnus Jasmine Shah to spruce up and intensify his government and the party’s communications outreach. This comes as an additional responsibility for Shah, who is the vice-chairperson of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders say the party has been on the backfoot after the drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha elections, and there is a general impression that the government has failed to showcase its success stories and counter the BJP’s attempts to discredit the Delhi CM.
Also read: Modi govt is facing the heat in Parliament — from BJP MPs
Too many cooks spoil Congress’ social media broth
The Congress party is in the midst of unprecedented chaos and uncertainty, living up to the adage ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. Its social media handling in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls has been criticised for being childish and unfocused and “all over the place”.
However, this should be no surprise since as many as 24 people handle its Facebook page. Twenty-three of these people are in India, while one is in the United Kingdom, according to the ‘People who manage this page’ information. The page was created on 20 February 2013. The BJP’s Facebook page, meanwhile, is handled by just six people.
Two reasons why Karnataka Congress MLA Anand Singh resigned
Is there more than what meets the eye to Karnataka Congress MLA Anand Singh’s resignation? Sources in the BJP say the party is keen on fielding Singh’s son Siddharth in the bypolls, once the father’s resignation is accepted.
Another reason that seems to have turned Singh off the Congress was the complete disregard shown to an advocate he had recommended for inclusion in the river water dispute panel headed by Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar. The lawyer had fought Singh’s case when he had been arrested and jailed in connection with an illegal iron ore export scam in Ballari.
(Contributors: Ruhi Tewari, Jyoti Yadav and Rohini Swamy)
Also read: When Ajit Doval and Ahmed Patel shared a table, a meal & a 20-minute chat