Delhi Confidential: Sleepless In Capital

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By: Express News ServiceNew Delhi | Updated: October 10, 2025 03:21 AM IST 3 min readA late-night call jolted several senior officers out of sleep as Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan convened an online meeting of his ministry around 10.45 pm, Wednesday, it is learnt. The meeting link was shared around 10.30 pm and officers were notified only minutes earlier. During virtual discussion, the minister is understood to have reviewed preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme — to launch Pulses Mission and PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana — on Friday in the Capital and expressed dissatisfaction with certain arrangements made for an event he attended at Pusa earlier in the day.Total RecallThe nation observed the 50th anniversary of the Emergency on June 25 this year, but efforts to keep it alive in public memory have continued through a series of events planned throughout the year. Notable among them is a two-day programme, supported by the Ministry of Culture, where Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat will deliver the inaugural address on Friday. Titled ‘Lest We Forget’, the event is being pitched as an “inter-generational dialogue”, which will see BJP leaders Virendra Sachdeva and Kapil Mishra speak, alongside S Gurumurthy, A Surya Prakash and Ram Bahadur Rai. It will also mark the birth anniversaries of Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh.New AvatarDuring BSP president Mayawati’s public meeting at Kanshiram Memorial in Lucknow Thursday, her nephew and party’s national convenor Akash Anand appeared in a new look, with cropped hair, taking party leaders by surprise. The young BSP leader till last month sported long locks, which, according to party workers, gave him a “cool look”. A BSP office-bearer remarked Akash’s new hairstyle gave him a “serious look”, which was more suited for a national leader of the party. With Mayawati lauding Akash’s work in the party and asking him to address the rally, the event is being seen as a new launchpad for Akash.Restricted EntryThe high stakes inheritance claim by actor Karisma Kapoor’s children over their late father Sunjay Kapur’s assets has piqued public interest, with some of the seniormost lawyers, publicists and journalists thronging court number 46 of Justice Jyoti Singh to attend the hearings. However for virtual attendees on Thursday, the videoconference facility to court proceedings through Cisco Webex remained restricted with entry access being controlled by the court staff. Part of the virtual hearing was also muted.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Delhi ConfidentialShivraj Singh Chouhan