Stationery problem: Has even the CBI been hit by economic slowdown?

CBI counsel said it had run out of printed booklets of Chidambaram's case diary, and hence could not submit one

Someone joked even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been hit by the slowdown in the economy. On Monday, during the hearing seeking an extension of the police custody of former finance minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case, the CBI submitted a computer printout of the case diary. Chidambaram’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, objected to it, to which CBI counsel said that it had run out of printed booklets of the case diary, and hence could not submit one. The court then accepted the printout of the case diary while acceding to the probe agency’s plea to extend Chidambaram’s remand till August 30.

Back in business

A noticeable change since Sonia Gandhi took over as Congress president is that General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (pictured) now has a greater say in how things are run, besides the general sense of activity in the party headquarters. Since 2014, the Congress headquarters at 24, Akbar Road, had worn a deserted look, with key meetings held at the party's “war room” in a bungalow on Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Road. Now Sonia and Priyanka have asked the party leadership to hold their meetings at Akbar Road. The distribution of invites to the 75th birth anniversary celebration of Rajiv Gandhi, held last Thursday, was done there, which kept the office buzzing for a few days. The ticket distribution for the forthcoming assembly polls might also take place there. But the Congress national headquarters will soon have competition with the new Gujarat Bhavan slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi right opposite the bungalow.  

Bhogle’s Twitter silence

It was rather uncharacteristic of noted cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle to not tweet about India’s first World Test Championship match against the West Indies, which ended on Sunday. It did not take long for many among his 8.36 million followers on the platform to wonder why Bhogle, who was posting tweets on other non-India Test matches, was silent on the India match in Antigua. Bhogle’s replies such as “Didn't feel like it. Won't feel like it today either” on Day Two didn’t help clear the air. However, in a tweet posted after the match, he wrote: “I didn't tweet on this game because I was unhappy at the time and I didn't want that to influence anything I might say.” One wonders what could have angered the usually mild-mannered and politically correct commentator: Team selection, changes (or continuity) after the unsuccessful World Cup campaign, or not being among the chosen commentators for the India-West Indies series?