Express News Service
Government MediaDhankhar fumes at failed merger, Sansad TV mess
A parliamentary delegation from Zimbabwe led by Parliament Speaker Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda was on a visit to India last week. During the visit, Sansad TV got a chance to interview him. The crew wanted a good backdrop for the interview. There was one available with the image of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The crew decided to use it. But then someone pointed out that it would not be right to have the Rajya Sabha chairman in the background and not the Lok Sabha Speaker. A hunt was launched for a good backdrop showing the LS Speaker. But the crew could not find anything appropriate. Then it was decided to drop Dhankhar too. This one incident reflects how Sansad TV, an entity formed by merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV, has fallen between the two stools.
The pressure from both sides is such that it has turned into a rivalry. The two TV channels continue to function separately and pull in different directions. Sansad TV is being run by a governing council comprising the administrative officers of the two channels and their IAS heads. Both channels try to outdo each other by getting a more senior officer than the other. If RS TV gets a joint secretary rank officer on board, LS TV brings in an Additional Secretary. This is to claim hierarchical superiority to be able to call the shots. As per Constitutional hierarchy, the Rajya Sabha chairman is placed above the Lok Sabha Speaker by being the Vice-President of India. But most of the physical property of the channel, including equipment, is owned by LS TV. The LS TV staff operating the equipment tend to favour their bosses.
At the All-India Speakers’ Conference in Kevadia, Gujarat, the then RS Secretary General was not invited to the dais by the LS TV staff managing the event. This sparked another row. A CEO was earlier brought in to ensure coordination. But he was removed after a short stint. As a result, the two Houses continue to pay salaries to the staff hired through them. As problems persisted, Dhankhar reportedly wanted to smoothen things and called for the merger document. The deadline he had set for giving him the papers is long past, and he is yet to get the papers. At a recent meeting with the staff, Dhankhar said he was very disappointed with Sansad TV and the way it was functioning. He raised questions about the ad hoc appointments. Sources said he had discussed the matter with the LS Speaker, but a solution is still nowhere in sight.
Lotus LoomsSukhu checks in, but a royal coup poses threat
The BJP has pressed former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh into action to keep a tab on developments in the Himachal Congress, especially on the party’s MLAs after the bitter battle over chief ministership. Congress state president Pratibha Singh, a strong contender for the CM post but who lost out to Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, is related by marriage to Amarinder Singh. Amarinder’s grandson Angad Singh is married to Aparajita Kumari, daughter of Pratibha Singh and former CM Virbhadra Singh, who belong to the erstwhile royal family of Rampur Bushahr in upper Himachal. Amarinder has reportedly been asked to be in touch with Pratibha Singh.
The BJP wants to use the possible disgruntlement over Sukhu’s elevation. The Congress has formed a government in Himachal by winning 40 seats in a 68-member legislative assembly. The BJP got 25. Three seats went to independents; they are BJP men who contested as independents after being denied party nomination. One of the 40 Congress MLAs is Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya. For the BJP to implement ‘Operation Lotus’ in the hill state, all it needs is the support of seven Congress MLAs, including Vikramaditya, whose father, the six-time CM of the state, still has a large number of admirers both within and outside the legislature party. Senior Congress leaders say the party has got a majority in the state, but it is not a comfortable majority. The party will have to be forever watchful and guard its flock. This time, the attack may come from someone who knows them inside out: Amarinder Singh. Delivering Himachal will be his first job for the saffron party.
Government Media
Dhankhar fumes at failed merger, Sansad TV mess
A parliamentary delegation from Zimbabwe led by Parliament Speaker Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda was on a visit to India last week. During the visit, Sansad TV got a chance to interview him. The crew wanted a good backdrop for the interview. There was one available with the image of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The crew decided to use it. But then someone pointed out that it would not be right to have the Rajya Sabha chairman in the background and not the Lok Sabha Speaker. A hunt was launched for a good backdrop showing the LS Speaker. But the crew could not find anything appropriate. Then it was decided to drop Dhankhar too. This one incident reflects how Sansad TV, an entity formed by merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV, has fallen between the two stools.
The pressure from both sides is such that it has turned into a rivalry. The two TV channels continue to function separately and pull in different directions. Sansad TV is being run by a governing council comprising the administrative officers of the two channels and their IAS heads. Both channels try to outdo each other by getting a more senior officer than the other. If RS TV gets a joint secretary rank officer on board, LS TV brings in an Additional Secretary. This is to claim hierarchical superiority to be able to call the shots. As per Constitutional hierarchy, the Rajya Sabha chairman is placed above the Lok Sabha Speaker by being the Vice-President of India. But most of the physical property of the channel, including equipment, is owned by LS TV. The LS TV staff operating the equipment tend to favour their bosses.
At the All-India Speakers’ Conference in Kevadia, Gujarat, the then RS Secretary General was not invited to the dais by the LS TV staff managing the event. This sparked another row. A CEO was earlier brought in to ensure coordination. But he was removed after a short stint. As a result, the two Houses continue to pay salaries to the staff hired through them. As problems persisted, Dhankhar reportedly wanted to smoothen things and called for the merger document. The deadline he had set for giving him the papers is long past, and he is yet to get the papers. At a recent meeting with the staff, Dhankhar said he was very disappointed with Sansad TV and the way it was functioning. He raised questions about the ad hoc appointments. Sources said he had discussed the matter with the LS Speaker, but a solution is still nowhere in sight.
Lotus Looms
Sukhu checks in, but a royal coup poses threat
The BJP has pressed former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh into action to keep a tab on developments in the Himachal Congress, especially on the party’s MLAs after the bitter battle over chief ministership. Congress state president Pratibha Singh, a strong contender for the CM post but who lost out to Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, is related by marriage to Amarinder Singh. Amarinder’s grandson Angad Singh is married to Aparajita Kumari, daughter of Pratibha Singh and former CM Virbhadra Singh, who belong to the erstwhile royal family of Rampur Bushahr in upper Himachal. Amarinder has reportedly been asked to be in touch with Pratibha Singh.
The BJP wants to use the possible disgruntlement over Sukhu’s elevation. The Congress has formed a government in Himachal by winning 40 seats in a 68-member legislative assembly. The BJP got 25. Three seats went to independents; they are BJP men who contested as independents after being denied party nomination. One of the 40 Congress MLAs is Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya. For the BJP to implement ‘Operation Lotus’ in the hill state, all it needs is the support of seven Congress MLAs, including Vikramaditya, whose father, the six-time CM of the state, still has a large number of admirers both within and outside the legislature party. Senior Congress leaders say the party has got a majority in the state, but it is not a comfortable majority. The party will have to be forever watchful and guard its flock. This time, the attack may come from someone who knows them inside out: Amarinder Singh. Delivering Himachal will be his first job for the saffron party.
