White paper will be colourful, promises Mamata (Parliament Diary)

The white paper on the performance of Indian Railways over the last five years will not be a black and white one, but a colourful one, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Lok Sabha Thursday.

The maverick politician from West Bengal also tried to pacify the anxieties of her predecessor Lalu Prasad. "I will definitely present a white paper. It is not against any individual. Former railway ministers Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes have presented such white papers," Banerjee said during her reply to a discussion on the railway budget.

Lalu Prasad, who is chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, had been angry when Banerjee came up with the idea of presenting a white paper a few days ago, as he suspected it was aimed at belittling his much-hyped achievements as the previous railway minister.

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Opposition loses its sting

Has the opposition in the Rajya Sabha lost its sting? It's not that there are no protests but they seem to be more in the nature of a formality because it is quite clear their heart's not in it.

One reason could be the absence of stalwarts Jaswant Singh and Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2009 polls. Then, newly appointed Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley, also of the BJP, seems constantly lost in thought as he gazes at the proceedings in the house from the seat once occupied by Jaswant Singh. Finally, the colourful S.S. Ahluwalia, who once formed part of the “shouting brigade” when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister in the mid-1980s and later crossed over to the BJP, is a pale shadow of his former self.

The Communists, known for their lung power, are now a subdued lot. Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) do raise their voice occasionally but not with the gusto of the past.

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No 'damming' the dialogue

Much water has flowed since the row over the Mullaperiyar dam erupted between Kerala and Tamil Nadu a few years ago. But former water resources minister Saifuddin Soz, who tried to resolve the crisis between the two states during his tenure, has not given up.

"I wish them well," Soz said when asked about efforts to solve the problem. Holding out hope for resolution of the row, he said Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M. Karunanidhi were not averse to discussing the issue. Dialogue helps, Soz said.

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Will Meira Kumar choose women journos?

Meira Kumar, India's first woman Lok Sabha speaker, is going through the list of journalists with regular parliament gallery cards to choose the next press advisory committee. Journos are now anxiously waiting to find out if more women members will make it to the panel that comprises 27 members.

The number of members of the committee varies, subject to the discretion of the speaker. Four members of the committee are nominated as office-bearers, including the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and joint secretary, from amongst the 27 members.

The press gallery of the Lok Sabha has a seating capacity for 120 mediapersons. However, of these, 57 seats in the first two rows are allotted to specific media organisations.

Last updated on Jul 9^th, 2009 at 17:35 pm IST--IANS