Delhi confidential: Next Stop

Voices Of Protest
The recent decision of the Supreme Court to designate some advocates as senior advocates has drawn the ire of some members of the legal fraternity. While the first one to raise questions over the process was senior advocate Indira Jaising, now  Supreme Court Bar Association president Dushyant Dave has also shot off a letter to the Chief Justice of India. Dave has asked the CJI to revisit the rules relating to the matter.

Party Plans
May 21 is Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary and the Congress is pulling out all stops to ensure healthy attendance at Veer Bhumi, Gandhi’s memorial. Although the results of the Lok Sabha elections came on May 16, Manmohan Singh continued as the Prime Minister as Narendra Modi was sworn in on May 26. So, last year the anniversary was commemorated by the government. The BJP government has already announced that celebration and observance of anniversaries of leaders, except Mahatma Gandhi, should be left to respective political parties, trusts and societies. The Congress’s top leaders, including Ahmed Patel, met the other day at the AICC headquarters to review the arrangements.

Still Stuck
SLASHED social sector spending, including in health, may have got the NDA government domestic flak but ministers continue to portray a rosy picture abroad. At the Commonwealth health ministers meet in the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Health Minister J P Nadda in keeping with the theme of the meet — universal health coverage — reiterated his government’s commitment to a free drugs and diagnostics scheme. The scheme was announced in the Modi government’s first budget but the ministry hasn’t yet been able to figure out how to cut that cloth according to its very limited pocket.