Chawla popular in universities, conferences

Former Chief Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla is as busy as before, doing things that interest him most.

Former Chief Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla is as busy as before, doing things that interest him most. Having conducted the world’s largest election in 2009, his services are in demand globally, which will soon take him to conferences in Maldives and later in Greece.

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He is also in demand from universities and colleges in the country, and has been offered several honorary professorships. He continues to devote a part of his time to his “Mother Teresa work”. But on the subject of any further appointment as the ambassador or a governor, he refuses to get drawn into it and prefers to smile the question away.

LCD screens purchased for CWG give PIB officials an embarrassing time For the poor PIB officials who are used to the ‘small dabba TVs of the 1990s’, the mega screen flat LCDs on their office walls are giving them a tough and embarrassing time. The wide-screened TVs costing over Rs1 lakh are those that were brought under the CWG head for the media centre and ‘carry the taint’.

As the bureau is frequented by journalists, the officials are facing a volley of questions about the TVs, which often make them squirm uneasily in their seats. Such is the size and the shine of these TV sets that they look odd in the dull and small rooms. They occupy half the wall, making PIB officials feel as if they are working under the shade of CWG mess.

No real case againt IAS officer Sada Kant, clean chit to follow?

Will the UP cadre IAS officer Sada Kant—who was sent packing by home ministry due to a CBI investigation—end up like his junior from Nagaland cadre Jyoti Kalash: humiliated and then handed out a clean chit? Jyoti Kalash was raided by CBI in 2008, accused of possessing disproportionate assets and given a clean chit two years later.

This year, the CBI turned to accuse Sada Kant. Keen that it should not be seen to be shielding the corrupt, MHA not only gave the agency permission but also prematurely repatriated Kant to his UP cadre. UP cadre IAS officers, however, insist the CBI charge, accusing Kant of getting a sub-contractor tasked to construct a border road to build a temple in his native place, was frivolous. CBI too also concedes that they did not really have a case against Kant at this stage and just wanted to question the officer.