Known for his controversial tweets on a variety of issues,Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah could not resist from a pointed jab at External Affairs Minister S M Krishna after the appointment of 34-year-old Hina Rabbani Khar as Pakistans new foreign minister. So one of the youngest foreign ministers will meet one of the oldest to discuss one of the toughest international issues. Who would imagine!, the young CM tweeted,hours after Khar was inducted as the youngest foreign affairs minister of Pakistan. War Over Hero An ex-servicemens association that came into the limelight for its unusual antics for demanding pension hikes,like returning medals to the President and writing letters in blood,surprised many by announcing that Kargil war hero Naib Subedar Yogender Singh Yadav would be attending a function organised by them. A top functionary of the organisation sent out invites for the event with Param Vir Chakra Yadav,who is a serving soldier,as the chief guest for a function to celebrate Kargil Diwas. However,a surprised Army spokesman clarified that they had received a request for Yadavs presence at the function but permission had not been granted. Given the status of the ex- servicemens association in the Defence Ministry,it is unlikely that Yadav will be allowed to attend the function. Pirate games Always keen to showcase its achievements in tackling piracy,the Navy issued a release on Tuesday detailing a rescue mission that saved a Greek ship from pirates. The detailed release mentioned that since its deployment in 2008,the Indian Navy had escorted 1,665 ships safely in the Gulf of Aden. But an unusual coincidence deflated the Navys spirits. It so happened that Beijing too chose Tuesday to detail its piracy fighting efforts. While the Chinese Navy came much later on the scene,the release claimed that its ships have escorted more than 4,000 merchant vessels in the pirate-infested region. Poor Show It may get all the attention of Congress president Sonia Gandhi,but many Congress members in the NREGAs monitoring body the Central Employment Guarantee Council fail to keep their commitment. With over a dozen Congress members in the council,only four of them turned up for a social audit meeting relating to the scheme. This was especially disappointing because the former ministers,C P Joshi and Vilasrao Deshmukh,had packed the 30-odd-member council with Congress leaders,and that is now beginning to tell. Back to Base Top cop K Vijaya Kumar is tipped to go to Tamil Nadu,with his name coming out on top for the post of Director General of Police (DGP) of the southern state. It is learnt that Kumar,who is currently DG CRPF,has been cleared for the position,with newly-appointed Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa giving her stamp of approval. Kumar,a 1975- batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre,is known for the famous encounter of sandalwood smuggler Veerapan. Congress Dilemma The Congress leadership is in a dilemma over whether the party should go with the DMK or go it alone in the October panchayat elections. While a majority of state leaders are in favour of going it alone given the taint tag on the DMK following indictment of its leaders in 2G spectrum allocation scam,others are assessing its implications for the future. The Congress leadership is apprehensive that if the party were to perform badly in the panchayat elections,its vote share will be cited by its alliance partner,be it the DMK or the AIADMK,during negotiations for seat-sharing arrangements in later elections.
