The raging issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in the country has brought out in the open serious differences between political parties and different sections of people.
At a recent meeting with ‘intellectuals’ in Hyderabad, national spokesperson of BJP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has made an interesting remark about transplantation of some important parts of the human body.
He recollected how former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as a member of the Congress in Rajya Sabha during the NDA government led by A.B. Vajpayee, spoke in support of citizenship to religious minorities who migrated to India from Pakistan and Bangladesh after persecution back home, and how he is opposing CAA aimed at the same now.
CPI (M) leader Prakash Karat, Mamata Benerjee, Lalu Prasad Yadav and others too had made the same demand. “Their change of stance on the issue makes me suspect that they may have undergone tongue transplantation, although people know only about heart, kidney and liver transplantation more,” Mr. Rao said.
Young IAS officers
a happy lot
The recent change in the guard in the State executive has apparently given rise to speculation over the possible changes in top posts of the key departments.
Ever since Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao preferred senior bureaucrat Somesh Kumar as Chief Secretary to head the bureaucracy, the BRKR Bhavan, the seat of state administration, is abuzz with talk on the possible changes, including a reshuffle in the Chief Secretary’s establishment.
The speculation that some officers senior to Mr. Somesh Kumar preferred transfer to independent bodies like that of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has triggered hopes among the relatively younger IAS officers of getting good portfolios as part of the proposed reshuffle in the coming days.
Poll code plays spoilsport
The release of schedule for municipal elections has cast a shadow on the traditional press conferences of police to release their annual progress report.
Director General of Police M Mahender Reddy, and Police Commissioners of Cyberabad and Rachakonda VC Sajjanar and Mahesh Bhagwat respectively, cancelled the media conference due to election code in force in the State in general and the two commissionerates in particular.
Instead, the top cops invited the journalists for ‘get-together’ and hosted lunches separately in the last week of December, during which the top cops were tight-lipped and did not take any questions on their professional work. However, they exchanged views on topics of general interest.
It was presumed that the three officers will hold the ‘much-awaited’ annual press meet after January 22, when the elections will be completed, as they have already printed books on their work done during the year.
With no election in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar chose to hold the annual press conference at the historic Koti Residency.
B. Chandrashekhar, M. Rajeev
& Abhinay Deshpande
