Third Eye: Rahul Gandhi calling up Lalu a PR exercise

RG Calling up Lalu A PR Exercise

Rahul Gandhi calling up Lalu Prasad to inquire about his wellbeing after a ceiling fan fell on the RJD chief has set tongues wagging in the Delhi political circles. Since the duo are not known to be sharing a good personal chemistry despite their electoral alliance, some say Gandhi’s initiative was a choreographed PR exercise with RJD chief amidst the increasing buzz about Lalu-Nitish combine giving BJP a run for its money in Bihar.

Bonhomie Intact

BJP and Shiv Sena may be sparring over a number of issues but personal equations between some leaders of the two outfits remain in good health. Environment minister Prakash Javadekar often visits Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence Matoshree. Uddhav is a wildlife photographer, while his younger son Tejas is fond of flora and fauna.

Shatrughan Sinha At it Again

BJP’s Patna MP Shatrughan Sinha has created a flutter in party with a series of tweets. He is named as a star campaigner for Phase-III, but has apparently requested for a dedicated chopper and a free run in terms of choice of venues for his rallies. BJP Bihar unit has been sending a group of leaders for each rally to factor in caste and regional equations. Ravi Shankar Prasad has refused to comment on Sinha’s tweets, saying he never comments on Sinha’s statements.

Making an Exception

When a secretary is on leave it is usually the additional secretary or special secretary who takes charge of the ministry but, this time, the government has asked corporate affairs secretary Tapan Ray to take care of the I&B ministry since I&B secretary Sunil Arora is on leave for two weeks. Ray, a Gujarat cadre officer, was also predicted to become the ministry secretary a few months ago.