Doval, Patel share meal in Eid event
An Eid Milan event, held to promote interfaith harmony by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind at the ITC Maurya Hotel this week, saw a very different kind of coming together — that of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
Just as diplomats, politicians and journalists broke bread with different kinds of meat, sweets, kulfis and biryani, Doval and Patel made a late-ish entry separately at the venue. Heads turned. Pleasantries were exchanged between the two and they settled down for a quick bite on the same round table.
Food was hurriedly ushered in for them. Politics was not on the menu but they engaged in a friendly 20-minute chat. But even 20 minutes is a long time in the polarised political climate of the day. Photographers were explicitly discouraged to click.
Ministers told to get social media teams ready
One of the first jobs for the newly sworn-in ministers is to finalise their social media teams. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugely popular on social media, the BJP has sent instructions to the ministers to be active online as well. The ministers have now asked their respective departments to finalise these teams at the earliest. This is in keeping with the BJP strategy to reach out to the masses through social media, something the party has immensely benefitted from.
Tomar has 3 ministries & 3 offices in the same building
Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar is in a unique position. The politician from Madhya Pradesh got a leg-up when this Modi government took charge after being handed three portfolios — the Rural Development, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare as well as the Panchayati Raj ministries. This has meant that Tomar has three offices in one building as Krishi Bhavan houses all three ministries that fall under him. Tomar, however, has been spending most of his time in the agriculture ministry, going to his office in the rural development ministry only when he has to attend meetings related to it.
Maharashtra’s first lady ups glamour quotient at US charity event
Amruta Fadnavis, the wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has always been known to add a dash of glamour to the otherwise ‘sarkari’ Varsha, the CM’s official residence at Mumbai’s plush Malabar Hill. Over the last few days, while Fadnavis was busy holding post-poll political and government meetings, his wife was touring the United States, holding concerts for a charity, sizzling in stylish costumes.
The ‘Jai Ho Charity Musical Concert’ was organised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin to raise funds for combating diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma and cardiovascular diseases. All her outfits were designed by Sai Suman, a fashion designer who works with Bollywood and Hollywood personalities, and is known for designing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outfit for his swearing-in ceremony in 2014.
Contributors: Ruhi Tewari, Pragya Kaushika and Manasi Phadke.
Also read: The perks Ajit Doval, Nripendra Misra & PK Mishra are entitled to under Cabinet rank