Delhi underground

Edged out

Seating arrangements at a press conference attended by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and all her ministers went haywire after newly appointed Parliamentary Secretary Mukesh Sharma insisted on joining the Cabinet on stage. There were eight seats and nameplates,for the CM,the Cabinet and Chief Secretary P K Tripathi. However,Sharma was seen beaming from the dais and even answered questions. Sources admitted that Tripathi was edged out of the press conference to accommodate Sharma,now considered the ‘de-facto’ government spokesperson. Delhi’s two other Parliamentary secretaries,Anil Bharadwaj and Surender Kumar,were not even in the building.

Heating up

Things are heating up at the Aarushi Talwar trial at a sessions court in Ghaziabad. At one point,Rajesh Talwar got very excited. While being cross-examined,the normally quiet Talwar exclaimed,“Yes!” CBI lawyers remarked,“They have just taken a wicket. The test match is on.”

‘On our side’

Last week’s protest near the Prime Minister’s house,organised by India Against Corruption,gave the Delhi Police a hard time. When the 1,500-strong crowd became uncontrollable,police were forced to fire tear gas shells and water cannons and resort to lathi charge. At the Akbar Road barricade,protesters could not be contained even by force. Some policemen told a group of protesters that they supported their cause and were against resorting to violence. The crowd began shouting,“Yeh andar ki baat hai,Dilli police humare saath hai (The Delhi Police is on our side).”

Where’s PM house?

IAC supporters leading the protest seemed to have forgotten the way to the PM’s house.

When they reached Sunehri Bagh Road,many supporters broke the barricades,pushed police personnel and began fleeing to avoid being detained. Most of them stopped at the junction,barely 20 meters ahead of the barricade they had broken,as they did not know where the PM’s house was. The group finally split up as they could not agree on the way to the PM’s house. The police had a good laugh when the supporters approached mediapersons for directions.

Unity in diversity

Due to lack of space,Congress and BJP councillors of the East corporation have been forced to sit next to each other. The norm for them is to sit on opposite ends of the hall. The corporation is trying to find a suitable space for Standing Committee meetings.

Transfer me not

A week after the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter which ordered that many senior Delhi Police officers be transferred outside the force,the officers were spotted making several rounds of the ministry. They were trying to convince MHA bureaucrats that they should not be sent outside Delhi or transferred from the Delhi Police. Some policemen had only just begin to enjoy their posting.

Sighs of relief

After CM Sheila Dikshit reshuffled the Cabinet last week,’bach gaya’ (saved) was the most commonly heard phrase from the Council of Ministers. The second most common phrase was ‘Badhai ho’ (congratulations). With speculation rife before the rejig that Dikshit might bring in fresh faces in the Cabinet and drop a couple of underperformers,most ministers were relieved to retain their Cabinet rank.