The Dalai Lama and Amano’s photographs were removed on Tuesday.
THE 105th edition of the Indian Science Congress that, till Monday, had said the Dalai Lama would be a chief guest, removed his photograph from their website on Tuesday after his office said he was likely to skip the event. The ISC website had listed the Dalai Lama and two other Nobel laureates — Muhammad Yunus and Hiroshi Amano — as those who would attend the event. But the Dalai Lama and Amano’s photographs were removed on Tuesday.
Winning Line
AT the ‘End TB Summit’ in the Capital, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus not only got his ‘Namaste’ right, but, also acted as the flagbearer of the Government of India’s campaign against the disease. While his ‘Namaste’ at the inaugural session brought a smile on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face, he ended the speech with the government’s tagline — “TB harega, desh jitega”.
Internal Politics
WHILE joining the BJP on Monday, Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal declared that his son Nitin — a Samajwadi Party MLA — would vote for the BJP’s candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections. But SP leaders are more interested about who Shivpal Yadav will vote for. During the presidential election last year, Shivpal had defied the party leadership’s decision to vote for Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, and voted for BJP candidate Ram Nath Kovind instead. SP leaders are now wondering whether Shivpal will repeat his act of defiance.
Farewell Gift
AS she left Parliament on Tuesday, Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi gave a ride to her party’s Rajya Sabha member Rajani Patil. The unusual gesture was intended to console Patil, who is set to complete her Rajya Sabha term next month. While Patil has not been renominated, she is reported to have been assured of another responsibility in the party.