Several Ministers of State are annoyed over the rows allotted to them in the Lok Sabha by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Bansal. Where you sit in Parliament represents your seniority and importance. While in the case of Cabinet ministers, the allocation was done strictly on the basis of seniority, seats for junior ministers seem to have been earmarked without following a proper pecking order. Many veterans were shocked to find 28-year-old MoS for Rural Development Agatha Sangma sitting ahead of them on the treasury benches. The DMK ministers, in particular, have made their displeasure known.

True friendship

Amar Singh has to spend another two months in Singapore recuperating from his kidney transplant. To demonstrate that he is not out of the action, Singh regularly organises teleconferences with the media back home, writes articles for Indian newspapers and has invited journalists to visit Singapore and interview him on his yacht. Visitors from India include Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Jaya Pradesh, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwarya and Anil and Tina Ambani. The Big B, who describes Singh as a “sincere, steadfast and a caring friend”, announced on his blog that he plans to remain in Singapore until Singh is sufficiently recovered.

Bachchan has kept himself occupied in Singapore reminiscing about his past on his blog. He recalls that he was denied admission at St Stephens College because he opted for a BSc course. Bachchan later joined Kirori Mal College. He writes that St Stephens students looked down upon other Delhi University students and it made Bachchan and others from KMC want to prove themselves even more.

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