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No one wants to go without nothing, according to Finance Minister

Published: 18:17 EST, 1 June 2012 | Updated: 18:17 EST, 1 June 2012

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Head and shoulders: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stands behind Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's call to practise austerity appears to have no takers in the government.

In spite of Mukherjee's call, commerce minister Anand Sharma held a meeting of the board of trades in a five-star hotel on Thursday.

The Congress was in a spot whether to endorse or condemn the minister.

When reporters asked Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury, she evaded the question with a typical reply: 'I'm not aware of the meeting.'

No golf till November

CBI director A.P. Singh has been an avid golfer but has virtually kept off the sport since taking over as the head of the premier investigating agency.

Sources say he is hardpressed for time. But some feel the real reason is that he wants to avoid the Capital's prestigious golf courses as a CBI director to avoid mingling with people, some of whom could face a CBI probe.

So golf is the one thing that Singh is believed to be itching to have a complete go at after hanging up his boots in November.

Mishra's advice

Anshuman Mishra

Controversial NRI businessman Anshuman Mishra, whose candidature to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand had embarrassed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has written to L.K. Advani asking him to retire from politics to allow younger leaders flourish.

Mishra said the BJP stalwart should pass on the mantle to leaders such as Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj.

'Don't you think a father who has nourished his sons should make way for the younger generation? I can vouch for the personal integrity of each of these individuals…none of these individuals have ever accepted a penny from anyone for personal gains,' wrote Mishra, and added for good measure:

'In the west, people are desperate to retire - in India, we are not able to let go."

To Russia with love

To Russia with a hand of friendship. The Congress gave a glimpse of the Cold War era and what could be a throwback of the Jawaharlal Nehru- Indira Gandhi era.

Sonia Gandhi dispatched a party delegation led by party general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi and Mukul Wasnik to Moscow to attend the 13th Congress of the United Russia Party on May 26.

The conclave saw the two countries signing a historic agreement 'on cooperation between the Indian National Congress and United Russia'.

The Congress is upbeat on the exchange and is expected to push the government to boost old ties.

Jolt to Congress

Siddaramaiah

The Congress, ridden by factions in Karnataka, suffered a serious jolt on Friday as its senior leader Siddaramaiah resigned as the Opposition leader in the assembly.

He was apparently upset over the party's nominations to for Legislative Council polls. Sources said Siddaramaiah was disappointed because the party failed to nominate his follower former Union minister C.M. Ibrahim as one of the four candidates for elections to the council.

This was after he was given an assurance on Ibrahim.