Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan officially took his seat in the Rajya Sabha, and how the cameras took notice! He walked in with quiet confidence, took the designated path to his seat, and suddenly the Upper House looked like a film premiere. Even seasoned journalists couldn’t resist snapping selfies, and a few members of the ruling party looked starstruck. An elderly Parliament staffer couldn’t help but remark, “Ab vipaksh ka Kamal, paksh ke Kamal ko takkar dega (now the Opposition’s lotus will challenge the ruling party’s lotus).” On his part, Haasan looked the model statesman — graciously greeting all who approached, taking photos without flinching, and accompanied by his actor-daughter and colleagues from the South. “It’s the beauty of democracy to meet and wish everyone,” he said with a smile. For once, no one rolled their eyes at idealism. Tharoor’s mango partyAnd finally, in true Delhi summer tradition, Shashi Tharoor hosted his famous mango-chaat party at his Lodhi Road residence. The political fruit salad was sumptuous. Congress colleagues were relatively scarce (maybe it was too hot, perhaps too awkward?), but the guest list leaned intriguingly bipartisan. Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Anupriya Patel showed up, as did BJP MP Shashank Mani, TMC’s Mahua Moitra (with husband Pinaki Misra), and an assortment of Rajya Sabha regulars and diplomats. Sudha Murty lingered around the mango counters, Harsh Vardhan Shringla discussed trade while sipping mango lassi. Tharoor was the ever-charming host — gliding from group to group, possibly quoting Tagore and Shakespeare in the same breath. If nothing else, it was a timely reminder that politics may divide, but mangoes unite.EC’s Vegas Rule on Bihar rollsAh, Bihar in mid-summer — not exactly a holiday destination, unless it is the election season. While the rest of the country was trying to keep cool, the Election Commission of India (ECI) found itself in the eye of a different kind of storm: the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s voter rolls. On the surface, the ECI was silent — stoically non-reactive as opposition parties went full megaphone, accusing it of voter suppression, particularly of the marginalised. Top national and state leaders openly questioned the Commission’s credibility, suggesting it was conveniently trimming the electoral rolls with a not-so-invisible hand. However, behind the scenes, the story was quite different. In a move that can only be described as “institutionally enigmatic,” the Commission opted for off-the-record media briefings, invoking what officials casually referred to as ‘The Vegas Rule’. It means, “We’ll talk, but no quoting, please.” Borrowed from the glitzy world of Las Vegas (and perhaps a few spy thrillers), the rule was intended to create a “safe and trusting” environment. Or so they said. What happened, of course, stayed behind closed doors. In those unrecorded briefings, ECI officials elaborated at length on the legal and constitutional basis for the SIR, repeatedly asserting that their only aim was to ensure that only Indian citizens were on the electoral rolls. Which is entirely fair — assuming the implementation doesn’t quietly shave away inconvenient voters. Alas, with no quotes and no recordings, we’re left with little more than shadows and well-dressed speculation.Kashish Mittal: When AI meets AlaapMeanwhile, on the opposite end of the public service spectrum, Kashish Mittal — a name once etched on an IAS nameplate — is now better known for going viral with a raag. The ex-bureaucrat-turned-tech-entrepreneur has been setting the internet abuzz with a video of him singing Hindustani classical music with the ease of a seasoned vocalist. The video has crossed 10 lakh views, much more than many official government circulars ever manage. Mittal isn’t your average ex-IAS officer. An academic rockstar, he snagged All-India Rank 6 in JEE, studied Computer Science at IIT Delhi, and then cleared the UPSC exam for good measure — earning AIR 58 in 2011. In 2019, he did the unthinkable: he left the IAS. Instead of fading into quiet retirement or high-profile consultancy gigs, he co-founded Disha AI, aiming to build tech with purpose. And in his spare time? He sings. Like, really sings. His story is equal parts brain, bureaucrat, and bansuri. A reminder that sometimes the best kind of public service happens when you quit the service altogether.
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