Delhi Confidential: Amid Bihar drama, will Harivansh step down as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha?

Will he, won’t he: With Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) snapping its ties with the BJP and walking out of the NDA, there is a question mark on the continuation of Harivansh as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Harivansh is an MP from the JD(U). So, will he step down or continue in his post and do a Somnath Chatterjee on his party? Chatterjee had refused to step down as the Lok Sabha Speaker in 2008 after the CPM and the Left bloc withdrew outside support to the UPA-I government. The CPM, of which Chatterjee was an MP, had asked him to resign but he did not oblige saying as Speaker he does not represent any political party in the discharge of his duties and functions, and that his election to the high office was unanimous as all political parties proposed his name. The CPM expelled him days later.

Keeping track: Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya takes meetings of senior officers mostly on a Monday or a Tuesday. In the weekly meeting, which at times continue for over three hours, a range of topics are discussed with precise action points and timelines set. Mandaviya has now introduced a dashboard called ‘Epitome’ through which he monitors the progress and timelines in real time.

Curriculum call: In April, the Department of School Education and Literacy had reached out to various ministries seeking inputs on the ongoing exercise to revise the country’s school curriculum. Now, the scope of consultations has been expanded further, with suggestions also being sought from the Election Commission of India, Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, among others. On Tuesday, the Education Ministry held a meeting on this issue with representatives from these organisations.