Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel must brush up his knowledge of the country's history and must not open his mouth until he had done that, advised former chief minister Raman Singh. Singh's retort came after Baghel said while the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had always linked Jawaharlal Nehru with the partition of the country, the real culprit was Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

According to Baghel, it was not Muhammad Ali Jinnah but Savarkar who first mooted the two-nation theory. Citing the results of the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won nine of the 11 seats in the state, Singh said it was not uncommon for people to lose their minds after an election loss.

Wait for the drama

One of the key positions under the new government, that of the central vigilance commissioner (CVC), will remain open for application till the first week of June. The last date for filing applications for the post was May 22. Applications barely trickled in as many prospective candidates waited to see which way the results of the general elections went.

Now the date for filing applications for the post of CVC and one vigilance commissioner has been extended to June 6. The appointment to the post of CVC will be through a committee comprising the prime minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the leader of the Opposition. Since the Congress does not have the numbers that the last post requires, expect more drama in the matter.

Fight for Rajya Sabha seats

A fight has ensued in Tamil Nadu for Rajya Sabha seats. Next month, six Rajya Sabha MPs will be elected from the state because the terms of four AIADMK leaders, one DMK and one CPI(M) leader are getting over. In the recently concluded bypolls, the ruling AIADMK won nine assembly seats, which means the party can send three representatives to the Rajya Sabha.

The party had promised one seat to the PMK as part of its alliance and one is expected to go to the BJP. Among the top contenders for the third seat are V Maitreyan, whose Rajya Sabha term gets over next month, 16th Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, Krishnagiri MLA K P Munusamy, and Jayakumar Jayavardhan, son of AIADMK leader D Jayakumar. As for the DMK, of its three seats, one is allocated to the alliance partner MDMK and one to the Congress. The party's labour union president Shanmugam, and former ministers K S Radhakrishnan and Subbalakshmi Jagadeesan are said to be in contention for its seat.