Parliament opened with a tactical retreat on the JPC on 2G, but with Delhi's political pundits predicting only further lows for the Manmohan government, everybody is asking how things came to such a pass so quickly
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Nobody is willing to bell the big cat, which is internecine rivalry between biggies in the Cabinet. Selective leaks have ensured that a lot of the dirty laundry is now out in the open. Everybody believes that Parliament session is a time when maximum damage can be inflicted, so some expos ufffd is more than likely to take place.
Don't hold your breath, though. The government is in mission overdrive to convey that it's willing to go the extra mile to mend things. Never mind if in the process it's corporate honchos now who are feeling the heat.
Everyone is waiting for the fabled reshuffle ufffd of the Cabinet (but that now has to wait for Parliament's longest session to end); the Congress party (that after the Cabinet?) and maybe even the upper levels of the bureaucracy. But, in the midst of all this, the government hopes the World Cup will be a lifeline, with wall-to-wall coverage on cricket edging out scam-fury. Now that's hoping for the best, in what's at best an uncertain game.
Showdown on DND
A combination of jan shakti and bureaucratic arm-twisting by the Noida authorities led to the rollback of the toll rate hike on the DND Flyway, a busy expressway which is also the capital's lifeline to Uttar Pradesh. The hike not only angered commuters, but also Noida authorities who suddenly discovered several "anomalies" and "illegalities" in the way the toll company officials were operating their business. The muscle-flexing clearly worked.
The crisis is over and it is unlikely that toll rates will be hiked again in a hurry, what with Mayawati's babus seemingly ready to arm-twist anyone who chooses to defy them. Dilli is relieved, as too are residents of Noida!
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