BELOW THE LINE

Not his call

Members of the PAC have complained to RBI governor Raghuram Rajan that directors and chairpersons of PSBs do not respond to complaints or queries from MPs. One member pointed out that it was easy to talk to the governor because he picks up all his calls, whereas “some bank chiefs neither pick our calls nor return them”.

While Rajan dusted the matter off his coat, he did tell the MPs they could raise the issue with the government.

Chinese stamp of approval

The biggest talking point from the meeting between West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, and Chinese VP Li Yuanchao was not which sectors will attract investments. Rather, it was an announcement by the finance minister, Amit Mitra, that “an internal survey by them (the Chinese) has shown Madam Banerjee as the most honest politician in India”. No wonder he couldn’t stop smiling.

At home abroad

On his maiden visit to Bengaluru, US Ambassador Richard Verma felt quite at home — right from the snarling traffic which he said reminded him of New York to the city of palaces, Mysuru, which happens to be his in-laws’ home-town. With Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also being from there, Verma scored with his declaration that “he is my chief minister too”!

No-good dad

Anand Mahindra’s daughter thinks her dad is a loser. When Mahindra told her he went to college with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, she thought her dad’s achievements paled in comparison to what Gates had done. Many years later, when Anand met Bill he told him, “Thanks to you, I’ll never be a winner to my kids!” He said he held a grudge against Bill until he was invited to be the keynote speaker at a Microsoft event in Mumbai. Water under the bridge now, we imagine.

City streets and pouring rain

Talking of water, torrential rains brought high-tech Bengaluru to a grinding halt for the better part of last week and irate citizens blamed the city administrators for their apathy. On one such wet day, the head of a top global multinational thanked a journalist for having braved the weather gods and turning up on time for a meeting despite the chaos on the streets. “In such inclement weather, I thank anyone who comes to meet me. Yesterday, I even thanked the pesky credit card salesman who came to see me,” he said. Is anybody listening?

Want to speak out? Get out

“If you are too much morally-outraged, you can quit (the government service) like Kejriwal, set up a political party and contest (the elections).” This is the advice, tendered on FB, by Kerala police chief TP Senkumar to IPS officers overly concerned about government policies and actions.

The advice is apparently aimed at senior IPS officer Jacob Thomas, who heads the Kerala Police Housing Construction Corporation. He has been shunted about by the UDF government because of his tough stand on certain issues, and faces disciplinary action for comments he made to the media indirectly criticising the government.

Kapil’s got Hardik’s back

Guess who’s fighting the ‘sedition’ case in the apex court on behalf of Hardik Patel, currently spearheading a campaign demanding reservation for the Patels? None other than Kapil Sibal, minister in the erstwhile UPA government! With local bodies and panchayat polls slated for November-end, the Patidar (Patel) community is carrying on its agitation even as Hardik cools his heels in Surat jail. Meanwhile, Hardik’s father continues to be a BJP leader asking the people to vote for the Congress — that’s the strategy the Patidar’s are adopting. Interestingly, BJP leader Arun Jaitley has represented the late Madhavrao Scindia. All’s fair in law and war.

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