Third Eye: Baby buzz in CPI-M circles, ‘Harvard Kumar,’ and Gates meeting ministers

Baby Buzz in CPI-M Circles: With CPI-M party congress scheduled for next month, the guessing game has started as to who would be the new general secretary, a post lying vacant since Sitaram Yechury's death. At present, former chief Prakash Karat is acting as interim coordinator till the new leader is chosen. As per the early buzz, polit bureau member MA Baby is emerging as a contender for the top post due to his seniority and the fact that the 75-year-old cap for holding the top post has disqualified many other aspirants. Party circles are curious to know whether 'the baby buzz' will be a reality or whether it is being deliberately floated as an early bird that could get shot first.

Harvard Kumar: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has received an invitation to address Indian students at Harvard Kennedy School. He has been invited to address on the topic, ‘The vision of Bihar — Educated, Developed and Able’. Kumar has been requested to join online and address the students sometime in April.

Meeting Ministers: Parliament House had a distinguished visitor on Wednesday. Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his team visited Parliament to meet ministers and officials. He met health minister JP Nadda and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. During the Modi government’s first term, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had called on the then finance minister Arun Jaitley