From Scavenging to Ramp

Until 2003, these young women were carrying human excreta in Alwar, Rajasthan. Next month, these 28 former scavengers will walk on a ramp at UN along with Jessica Randhawa, Carol Gracias, Shahwar Ali, Mark
Robinson and others.

Picked by NGO Sulabh International, these women between 25 and 40 years, recently had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi to share their experience of pursuing other career like fashion designing, beauty treatment and making of
 noodles and papads. Sulabh chief Bindeshwari Pathak said these women will be going to UN which is celebrating 2008 as the year of the sanitation. The idea of walking at the ramp came at the world toilet summit held in last year October when the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander hit upon the idea of holding such a show.

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Why is Vayalar after Antony?

The parliamentary affairs minister Vayalar Ravi is virtually at war path with Defence minister A.K. Antony. In a rare instance of a cabinet minister gunning for another, Ravi accused Antony of leading the Congress to defeat in Kerala and candidly said under Antony's leadership, the Congress was reduced to zero as compared to the eight Lok Sabha seats it won in 1999.

The buzz in the Congress circle is that Ravi is desperately trying to get back to state politics in Kerala and replace Oommen Chandy. The parliamentary affairs minister's interest in his home state is a sign that Ravi has almost given up UPA's return at the Centre.

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Humble Minister

RJD's Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is a simple man. The other day, his driver had gone off to have breakfast when the Union Rural Development minister decided to leave his Ashok Road residence for Krishi Bhawan office.

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Following in 'friend's footsteps!

Congress MP Rajiv Shukla has been blessed with a baby girl.He and wife Anuradha Prasad were first greeted by many politicians including Samajwadi Party's Amar Singh. Amar Singh himself was blessed with twins many years after marriage. Amar and Rajiv Shukla were close friends for decades till they fell out. In fact, in political circles their go-getter approach, proximity to business houses, Bollywood and nearness to their political masters is often compared.

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Kamat's wrong timing

Congress leader Gurudas Kamat is ruing the moment when he resigned as president of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC). Kamat who had replaced Murli Deora after a gap of eighteen years was hoping to get a berth in the union council of ministers. But the day he resigned happened to be the 10th year of Sonia Gandhi as head of the party.  Palace courtiers quickly brought leader's attention to Kamat's "indiscretion" of stepping down at her hour of celebration. Since then, Kamat is on explanation mode but nobody is listening.