Sonia GandhiTHE HUMILIATING defeat of the Congress in the recent elections in several states has prompted the Sonia Gandhi-led party to think about making changes in the organisation in these states. In the Gujarat Assembly bye-elections, the party lost all the eight contests. Sources said the party is thinking about replacing both the state Congress president as well as the CLP leader. Similarly, the president of the Telangana unit of the Congress is set to be replaced after the bitter loss in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. One gets to hear that the party is also set to appoint a new president for the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. Expectedly, lobbying has begun in all these states for the positions.
Lockdown Deaths
THE MEETING of the Standing Committee on Railways saw MPs from both sides of the political divide questioning the national transporter on the issue of deaths during the Covid-19 lockdown. While how many died during the operation of the Shramik Specials is known through Parliament questions in the last session, some MPs raised the issue of around 700 railway employees dying of the pandemic so far. Some MPs said Railways apparently told the committee that jobs would be given on compassionate ground to the next of kin of those who died.
The Farewell
WITH THE electoral college finally voting in favour of US President-elect Joe Biden, US President Donald Trump’s days in the White House is just about a month away. US ambassador to India Ken Juster, who was a political appointee of the Trump administration, got his first farewell call by a think-tank on Wednesday. US-India Strategic Partnership Forum held a virtual farewell on Wednesday and thanked him for his leadership and strengthening bilateral ties. Juster too thanked them for being a great partner in advancing the US-India economic relationship.