Azad’s No Show

At the recently concluded HIV-AIDS conference by NACO, glowing tributes were paid to Leader of Opposition — and an ex-health minister — Sushma Swaraj and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for their role in getting the anti retroviral therapy programme in place. In stark contrast, current Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has only received snide remarks and been a subject of ridicule in the AIDS NGO circuits ever since his statement against homosexuality. Not surprisingly then, Azad did not turn up for the concluding session of the conference which he was to address.

Twin picks

Two Youth Congress leaders, Varad Choudhury and Mohammed, are creating a buzz in the Rural Development Ministry given their clout with Minister Jairam Ramesh. Said to be the nominees of 12, Tughlaq Lane (Rahul Gandhi's residence), these two have been on the personal staff of Ramesh ever since he was made the Environment Minister at the start of UPA-II. What is making senior officials fume is the obtrusive presence of these two even during their meetings with the minister. The duo also seem to be climbing up the social ladder rather fast and have been rubbing shoulders with the who's who of the industry and the government at parties thrown by corporate bigwigs.

Hail to the chief

Two seemingly political campaigns are planned in the Capital next week in support of Army Chief Gen V K Singh and against corruption in the armed forces. First, a three-week long campaign will kick off on May 3 where his supporters will distribute badges carrying a photo of the officer to school and college students. This will be followed by a rally in support of the Army Chief next Sunday at Jantar Mantar. This has been organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Rajput Sangharsh Samiti of Hisar. Organisers claim that they will protest all day long against the 'injustice' meted out to the officer and also against corruption in the armed forces.

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