All posts tagged: Delhi Confidential

Delhi Confidential: Lohri Deadline | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Lohri Deadline | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

Union Power Minister Manohar Lal ensured that Lohri celebrations organised at Haryana Bhawan on Tuesday concluded at the legally-mandated deadline of 10pm. In addition to the minister, CJI Suya Kant and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta were among those who attended the event that was organised by Haryanvi Maitri Sabha. Sources among the guests at the event said the minister had issued clear instructions to wrap it up by 10pm sharp, which were adhered to. Courteous Call After instances of friction between MPs and officers during committee meetings in the recent past, all Union and state government officials have been reminded by the Department of Personnel and Training of the guidelines on how to behave with the elected representatives, from being courteous during meetings and calls to avoiding pre-printed written replies for correspondence. After a Parliamentary Standing Committee in October 2025 asked for the existing guidelines to be reiterated, the DoPT on Monday put out an office memo. The guidelines say while officials should listen to MPs, MLAs and MLCs patiently, they must act only as …

Delhi Confidential: Feast For All | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Feast For All | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

A week after BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Pankaj Chaudhary issued a warning to several Brahmin MLAs and MLCs in the party for attending a community-based meeting-cum-dinner, in which “baati-chokha” — a popular delicacy of eastern UP and Bihar — was served, the Samajwadi Party (SP) organised a “baati-chokha” feast on the first day of the New Year. Addressing the gathering, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav told his party workers that “baati-chokha should not be defamed in internal conflicts; all should sit together and eat without any restrictions”. SP sources said the feast for people from all castes and communities was a message to the ruling party against “caste-based activities”. Mix & Mismatch The readers of Janmabhumi, the BJP’s newspaper in Kerala, were left dumbfounded Thursday when they turned to the edit page. The lead article on the page was by Muslim League Kerala chief Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal reflecting on 2025. There were two more opinion pieces by Muslim League leaders M K Muneer and Mohammed Shah. The editorial was on the disintegration of …

Delhi Confidential: Chit Fun | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Chit Fun | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

At the last Cabinet briefing of 2025, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was asked about the share of Maharashtra government’s funding for a road project that was approved. In response, Vaishnaw gestured to officials seated in front of him for the details in writing. “Exam aise pass karte the, parchi se [this is how exams were passed, using chits],” joked Vaishnaw, a former IAS officer-turned-politician. Security Scoff The presence of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) outside the Election Commission of India office during the visit of a TMC delegation, led by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Wednesday became a point of discussion after the meeting. Some delegation members joked that BJP being “scared” of the Opposition party from West Bengal was well known, but had no idea that the “paranoia” was so much that RAF needed to be deployed. Striking Return AAP’s Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha returned to his roots in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar on Wednesday to participate in a sy­mb­olic strike by gig work­ers over a host of issues. …

Delhi Confidential: Can’t Take It EC | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Can’t Take It EC | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

A delegation of the Trinamool Congress, led by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday at Nirvachan Sadan. Members travelling from West Bengal have made elaborate arrangements to tackle two challenges in the national capital—the biting cold and the air quality. The delegation, which comprises some state ministers and leaders, reached Delhi on Tuesday wrapped in multiple layers of warm clothes and carrying bags full of woolens and anti-pollution masks, said a member. Study Tour The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change recently travelled to Nagpur and Chandrapur for a tour to National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve respectively, it is learnt. At NEERI, the members were briefed on research work undertaken on environme­ntal issues, including air quality. At Tadoba, the forest officers briefed the MPs on efforts to curtail human-wildlife conflict. Family Time Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s son Raihan Vadra is set to get engaged to Delhi-based photogra­pher Aviva Baig on Wednesday. A …

Delhi Confidential: Green Signal | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Green Signal | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been planting a sapling daily for over four years, has invited common people to join him for the cause. It is learnt that people can submit their requests at his portal (https://shivrajsinghchouhan.co.in). Chouhan usually plants saplings near his official residence — 12, Safdarjung Road — and the lane opposite his house now apparently has many new trees. Kerala Gaze With the splendid victory of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the recent Kerala local body elections setting off speculation about a political realignment in the state, Parliament becomes a place of interest. Even a chance encounter between UDF convenor Adoor Prakash (Congress Lok Sabha MP) and Kerala Congress (Mani) leader Jose K Mani (Rajya Sabha member) triggers amusement in political circles. Prakash had even sent an offer to Mani, whose party is a constituent of CPM-led LDF. Although Mani rejected the offer, the Congress leaders were hopeful that Mani would eventually jump the “sinking ship” and join the UDF. Mani is yet to give any signal, …

Delhi Confidential: Audit outcome | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Audit outcome | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

Following an internal directive from Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha, around 144 police personnel and 10 multi-tasking staff (MTS) deputed with retired police officers, including three former Delhi Police Commissioners and at least 38 senior IPS officers who are currently outside the Delhi Police, have been withdrawn. The move comes amid an ongoing departmental review that also prompted several senior officers to return their official vehicles after an audit revealed that some were using them despite being retired or transferred. VIP movement Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy hosted Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Vidhusekhara Bharati Swamiji, the revered successor of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, at his official residence in Lutyens’ Delhi on Tuesday. As the news spread, many Union ministers and senior BJP functionaries, including BJP national president J P Nadda and Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, visited Reddy’s residence to seek Shankaracharya’s blessings. Balloon rides In a fillip to Delhi’s tourism sector, hot air balloon rides will be available at four locations beginning Saturday. According to sources, Lt Governor V K …

Delhi Confidential: Next Goal | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Next Goal | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

As it closes in on the 11th year in power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the BJP is learnt to have planned an information blitz over the next two to three weeks on the NDA government’s achievements in all these years. Party insiders said the aim of the campaign is mainly to underline the success of the Central government’s welfare schemes and the extent to which they have benefited the poor, but the party also seeks to “dispel the gloom” around the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives on April 22, through the initiative. Civil Debate PARTICIPATING IN a panel discussion on journalist Poonam Agarwal’s book — India Inked — Congress leader Pawan Khera and Association for Democratic Reforms co-founder Jagdeep S Chhokar got into a heated exchange over the condition of civil society during different goverenments. Khera felt that civil society was in the ICU under the NDA government’s rule, while during the UPA government’s time, it was demanding and effective. “Hamare waqt civil society ka aatank tha (During our time, civil …

Delhi Confidential: The big five | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: The big five | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and his four most senior colleagues — Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J K Maheshwari and B V Nagarathna — will preside over benches in the very first week of the Supreme Court’s partial working days (earlier called the vacation period) that begin May 26. Though senior judges do sit during these partial working days, this is perhaps the first time the top five are sitting in the first week itself. The partial working days end on July 13. Reshuffle in The Ranks Friday’s bureaucratic reshuffle across several Union Territories has set off talk that a similar exercise could be imminent for the gubernatorial ranks. The gubernatorial reshuffle was said to have been delayed after the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent India-Pakistan conflict. Several Lieutenant-Governors and Governors had, over multiple days, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the April 22 terror attack. The Lookbook After a Samajwadi Party social media post targeting Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak triggered a political storm and an FIR, party chief …

Delhi Confidential: Meeting Postponed | Delhi Confidential News

Delhi Confidential: Meeting Postponed | Delhi Confidential News

Published by Parlour News

The Election Commission has, for the first time, begun holding a series of meetings with national political parties to take their feedback on the electoral process. Meetings have already taken place with the BSP, BJP and CPI(M). While Mayawati represented the BSP, J P Nadda spoke to the panel on behalf of the BJP. The CPI(M) delegation comprised its General Secretary M A Baby, Politburo member Nilotpal Basu and Central Secretariat member Muralidharan. The meeting with the Congress, which was expected to be represented by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, was supposed to take place on May 15. The Congress, however, sought to postpone the meeting, saying in a recent letter that it would be inappropriate in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. No new date has been fixed yet. First Day The swearing-in ceremony of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Wednesday saw an unprecedented crowd. It is learnt that more than a hundred lawyers from Amravati (the CJI’s hometown), Nagpur (where he later practised), and Mumbai (where he …