PM Modi's NaMo app to allow donations starting from Rs 5 to Rs 1,000

Facing criticism from the Opposition for being the richest party — the Bharatiya Janata Party has also topped the list of corporate funding of political parties for several years in a row. The NaMo app, the app of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has turned to the common man to contribute smaller donations. The app will now allow donations starting from Rs 5, with other amounts that people can donate being Rs 50, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. The donation drive was launched on Monday.

Be present, please

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has advised all anti-corruption officials working with banks and other organisations to attend without fail a lecture scheduled to be delivered by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel on Thursday. The lecture is part of a monthly series, initiated after K V Chowdary took over as the Central Vigilance Commissioner in June 2015. “Lately, it has been noticed by the Commission that despite the Commission’s advisory to the chief vigilance officers (CVOs) and other senior vigilance officers to attend these lectures, a very small number of CVOs based in Delhi/NCR are attending the lectures,” the probity watchdog said in a circular. Commission obviously disapproves of the trend. “It is therefore once again advised that all the CVOs based in Delhi/NCR may attend the lectures... In addition, they may encourage their senior vigilance officers also to attend,” the CVC said. Patel is expected to discuss key issues facing the banking and financial sector among other things, at the programme, this week.

The math of holding hands

Last week, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India and Congress agreed to have a seat adjustment for the upcoming Telangana assembly polls. The central leadership of these three parties are hopeful of seat adjustments also in Andhra Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the assembly polls in the state that will coincide with the Lok Sabha elections. However, there is much resistance to this from local leaders of both the Congress and the TDP. The TDP is hopeful that the Congress will offer assurances on granting the state ‘special status’ — a concession that will help it convince local leaders about the sagacity of the move. Congress President Rahul Gandhi was in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday and spoke of granting such a status if Congress forms the government at the Centre. The next few months will reveal if the two parties that have long been arch-enemies in the state can still come together.