Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with Marinus Bee, the Speaker of the National Assembly of SurinameLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘India will be a developed country by 2047’ message to the world. Leading a parliamentary delegation to Suriname, Birla declared in the foreign country’s National Assembly that India is ready with an action plan to become a developed State by 2047. But he reminded the elected members that effective legislation is always an outcome of constructive discussions among the members belonging to different political parties. Back home, Opposition members say Birla’s message is for the ruling party, which, they claim, is passing key Bills without proper debate.
Shimla discord: The Congress on Wednesday kicked off its campaign for the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh by releasing a mini-manifesto of 10 pledges in Shimla, but veteran leader Anand Sharma was absent. Senior party observer Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel unveiled the document in the presence of observers Sachin Pilot and Partap Singh Bajwa, AICC in-charge Rajiv Shukla, state Congress president Pratibha Singh and other senior state leaders. Sharma had some days ago resigned as the chairman of the steering committee for Himachal Pradesh elections. Shukla had since met Sharma to placate him but his absence at the event signals that he is still cut up with the party. Sharma, it is said, was informed about the event but, sources said, the contents of the document were not shared with him, prompting him to stay away.
Tech knowledge: During a hearing earlier this week, Justice D Y Chandrachud said the Supreme Court while planning to recruit technical staff for its computer wing has decided to first see if there are any eligible hands among its existing staff. “You will be surprised, among our junior court attendants — who fall in the Class IV employee category — there are highly qualified people, even B Tech (IT) graduates, MCA (IT) degree holders,” he said. Justice Chandrachud said orders had already been given to redeploy those who are willing. If necessary, they will also be trained and given work commensurate to their qualification and expertise, he added.
Scripting a flop: Former Delhi BJP chief and MP Manoj Tiwari makes his visits to the party headquarters memorable by sharing interesting anecdotes. The latest one involved Bollywood actor late Dilip Kumar. Tiwari said when he was at the peak of his acting career in the Bhojpuri film industry, Dilip Kumar invited him to go through a script for a Bhojpuri film that he wanted to make. Starry-eyed, Tiwari heard the story, but suggested some changes. Ravi Kishan, then an upcoming Bhojpuri actor and now a fellow party MP, heard about this and agreed to do the film for a fee much less than Tiwari’s. The movie went to Kishan, but it earned less than Rs 35 lakh against Rs 1.23 crore that Kumar had spent. Tiwari, then playfully blamed his party colleague for the “tragedy that happened to Bhojpuri film industry”.