Delhi Underground

Media madness

During arguments for the the sentencing for the four accused in the December 16 gangrape case,scores of reporters waited outside the court room. Any lawyer or policeman who was spotted even briefly would be followed by reporters trying to get at least a brief insight into the court proceedings. During one such day,the reporters spotted defence lawyer V K Anand outside the court. Anand was trying to make a run for the lift to avoid the media. But the reporters chased him,trying to get him to speak. So earnest was this chase that the lawyer ended up being followed till the washroom. Finally,he had to request them to “at least let me use the toilet in peace”.

Switching sides

There was a time when Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel,considered close to L K Advani,had opposed a proposal to nominate Narendra Modi as the party’s chief of election campaign. However,after the Gujarat chief minister was named the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections,Goel was found rather keen to congratulate Modi. In fact,the state unit sent out a release stating that Modi has a pan-India appeal and that the party had found direction under of Modi’s leadership.

Law of errors

Speedy justice may not always go hand-in-hand with accuracy. And this was witnessed during the pronouncement of the verdict in the December 16 gangrape case last week. Under pressure from mediapersons to quickly finish typing the verdict,the court staff ended up making several printing errors on the document. Even the version of the order uploaded online contained those errors. In one such error,the date of arrest of the accused in the December 16 incident was recorded as November 2012.

Quick stop,shop

With onion prices soaring,many have resorted to making a ‘vegetable shopping’ stop at the Delhi Secretariat. A stall has been set up in the parking area opposite the Secretariat,which sells onions and potatoes on a ‘no-profit,no-loss basis’. So many people,right from journalists to a casual visitors to the Secretariat,have been found picking up their vegetables before heading out to work.

New culprit

During elections,it is common practice for candidates to blame each other for rigging the polling process. But,this year the candidates found a new culprit during the students union election in Delhi University. Noting a low voter turnout in the morning,a student activist remarked,“Alcohol must have been distributed last night. All of them must be sleeping.”

Getaway games

Representatives of companies accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam,now regulars at the Patiala House courts,have become experts in playing games on their mobile phones. Those using blackberry phones swear by the popular ‘brick breaker’ game,while iPhone users seem to play a version of tennis. And those without smartphones have stuck to the classic ‘snake’. It seems these games tend to breathe a few minutes of fun into the otherwise sombre atmosphere of a CBI court.

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