Below the Line – The Hindu BusinessLine

Thank you Sir!

Members of Parliament need some training (lecturing?) on dos and don’ts about their social media posts. Else, they often end up crossing the line while venting their anguish over alleged injustices (like denial of an opportunity to speak in the House) during Parliamentary proceedings.

One such member —Trinamool’s Mahua Moitra — came in for some advice from none other than the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla himself on Thursday during the question hour.

Birla remarked — immediately after Moitra raised an issue relating to Civil Aviation Ministry — that “some members sometimes write on Twitter that the Speaker does not give opportunity to the members to speak. Please keep in mind that the members should not write on Twitter about the Speaker.”

Birla noted that commenting on the Chair inside and outside Parliament was a violation of the dignity and decorum of the House, and such comments on social media or elsewhere should be avoided.

However,Moitra, it appeared, did not understand the import of what the Speaker said. Soon after Birla cautioned MPs against writing about him on Twitter, Moitra again took to Twitter to thank the Speaker for allowing her to ask a supplementary question in Parliament on Thursday!

Chinese whisper

Some years ago, a meme that was making rounds showed a signpost with an arrow saying “Secret Bunker”. A government press release reminds one of that meme. The release speaks about a technology developed by IIT Delhi, which a start-up is trying to commercialise. The start-up, the release says, has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with ITC “for integration of this technology in their food products”. Wonder how ITC is reacting!

Tunnel for development

Recently, Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, said in the Lok Sabha that the construction of tunnels in Shiradi Ghat section, to connect Mangaluru with Bengaluru on NH-75, may not be viable. This came as a surprise to trade and industry bodies from coastal Karnataka that had high hopes on this project after the visit of Gadkari to Mangaluru in February.

The minister had stated that an Austrian agency and experts from his ministry had done a study on the six-lane tunnel project, and the cost of the project was estimated at ₹14,000 crore. Responding to the latest reply by the minister, one of the industry body members said considering the overall development of coastal Karnataka, this project should be given thrust.

Getting listed isn’t easy

The transition from being a private company to a listed company can be challenging for the promoters. “My blood pressure goes up looking at the stock price,” said a chairman of a leading Chennai-based company that got listed recently. “It is tiring and challenging, but we need to cope. We are not only answerable to the powerful board but also to the large number of shareholders,” he said.

Over the top

What happens when a CA woman director of a public sector bank gets excited about her suggestion finding acceptance by the board of the bank she serves? She takes to Twitter to elaborate the success and, in the bargain, unwittingly lets the world know the agenda of the bank board meeting! Now, this is where some training of directors could have helped.