Upset CM Ashok Chavan skips Commonwealth Games ceremony

Chief minister Ashok Chavan had meticulously planned his schedule last week to ensure his attendance at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on Thursday. But at the eleventh hour, he had to call off the plans in the wake of the controversy kicked off by his colleague and state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre. Chavan had a hard time explaining the Rs2 crore donation for the Sonia Gandhi rally. An upset Chavan cancelled his plans unlike deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal who had a wonderful time despite knowing that big boss Sharad Pawar had chosen to stay away, ignoring prime minister Manmohan Singh’s directive. Now, it appears Pawar was busy in his role as ICC president, watching the cricket match between India and Australia.

Sarangi in agriculture ministry?
Umeshchandra Sarangi, whose tenure as chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) ends in December, is currently a favourite with home minister RR Patil. Grapevine has it that the minister wants him in his department as a replacement for additional chief secretary Chandra Iyengar who will retire next month. But senior bureaucrats believe Sarangi is more suitable for portfolios such as agriculture and development. The home department, which is ridden with factional fights and lack of agreement between senior officers, may not like Sarangi’s temperamental peculiarities and style of working. Subodh Kumar is also being considered for home but Patil is not very keen on this tough taskmaster who can give the cops a difficult time. The home minister is looking for someone who can strike a perfect balance between the home administration and the police department. As far as Sarangi is concerned, some feel that the ideal place for him to use his agricultural expertise would be the agriculture ministry at the Centre.

Minister’s hand washing campaign
Minister of water supply and sanitation Laxman Dhobale recently made a concerted attempt to generate public awareness to mark the International Hand Washing Day on October 15. Through illustrations and catchy phrases, the department ensured its campaign reaches both urban and rural Maharashtra. The purpose of the day is to convey the age-old message of how people should wash their hands before eating. However, in public life, ministers often themselves forget to follow the mantras. But there’s this case, a few years ago, of NCP minister Ganesh Naik’s penchant for washing hands which created a furore. His obsessive need to wash hands every time he had to shake hands with visitors was dismissed as an act of snobbery. By his own admission, hand washing was an obsession purely from a health point of view. Now, as the world is promoting hand washing day, many in his party wonder if Naik could become the cause’s ambassador?