Giving Bollywood a miss
In the backdrop of the sparring session going on with the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Games organising committee is busy preparing for the Queen’s Baton. Although Suresh Kalmadi and Co wanted to include Bollywood personalities in the team headed for London, in view of the controversies surrounding the Games, they have changed plans. The name of Bollywood actress Hema Malini figured high on the wish-list. “We are going for a sporting event, so we are only taking sportsmen. There is no place for anyone else,” a senior officer was heard saying. So now, the list only has names of sportsmen, from Abhinav Bindra to Prakash Padukone.

‘Only mascot on track ’
While the Delhi government went all out to convince the visiting Commonwealth delegates that work was on track, many insiders, especially sarkari babus, remain cynical. The recent advertisement announcing “One year to go, Shera on track” prompted a senior official in the Secretariat to say that only the mascot, Shera, was on track. “Shera might reach the Games venue on time but it will still be under construction,” he quipped.

Sheila talks tough to BSES
As the furore over the change of guard at BSES was raging last week, it emerged that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is livid with the discom over its failure to meet core responsibilities. A reliable source in the Chief Minister’s Office revealed that on two occasions, Dikshit had refused to even meet representatives of the discom. The message sent out to the discom was loud and clear: “Put your house in order.”

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