Taking cue from Karnataka, Kamal Nath asks MLAs not to leave Bhopal

After closely watching the recent developments in Karnataka and Goa, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has asked all Congress MLAs and those supporting his government to stay in the state capital. Nath addressed an MLA meet late on Wednesday and directed them not to travel outside Bhopal. Bahjuan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Sanjeev Kushwaha missed the meeting although he was in the city that day. It is no secret that BSP MLAs Kushwaha and Rambai are unhappy with the state government and do not get along with some of its ministers. Rambai had publicly stated she wanted a ministry. On Thursday, Kushwaha said that some Congress ministers had an "attitude problem" and that he planned to talk to the chief minister about "the behaviour issues".
 
A nudge from NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog's tweet

So you thought government ads were composed by and aimed at the fuddy-duddies, right? Wrong. A recent NITI Aayog ad caught attention because it was not. The ad, placed on Twitter and saying the government think tank was looking for senior specialists and specialists in behavioural economics, seemed to be inspired by a popular dialogue from Hindi movie Rang De Basanti. The NITI Aayog ad started off with Koi bhi desh perfect nahin hota, usse perfect banana padta hai; the 2006 sleeper hit had a dialogue, Koi bhi desh perfect nahin hota... usse behtar banana padta hai. Now if you said using snappy phrases and taglines was par for the course on Twitter and that NITI Aayog needed something relatable to "nudge" young people into action, you probably wouldn't be far off the mark.
 
To name or not to name

During the discussion on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said the Union Budget's relief to the corporates was intended to help two leading industrial houses. Roy named the two houses, which bear the surnames of their founders. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Nishikant Dubey said Roy, under Rule 352 of the Lok Sabha, had defamed two individuals as also those who had these two surnames. Roy argued that he did not take any first names, but had referred to the two corporate groups. Meenakshi Lekhi, who was at that juncture chairing the proceedings, seemed to agree with Dubey that Roy had taken names of two individuals. However, the Biju Janata Dal's Bhartruhari Mahtab intervened to say that there had been several instances in the past when members referred to two other industrial houses, the Tata and the Birla groups, in their speeches. He said the Lok Sabha secretariat should go through the records to find out if those references were also defamatory and come to a conclusion on the issue. Roy then continued with the rest of his speech as no one countered Mahtab's interjection.