Delhi Underground

Short of saffron scarves

At a recent press conference, the BJP announced that eight Congress workers were joining the party. As the names were announced, each of the new members were welcomed by state president Satish Upadhyay with a saffron scarf according to party tradition. However, halfway through the ceremony, they fell short of scarves and were left red-faced as the programme was being aired live. An embarrassed Upadhyay shot his staff an angry look. It took at least 20 minutes for more scarves to be arranged and distributed.

Lesson of a lifetime…

When AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal arrived at Najafgarh for the first village-edition of the party’s Delhi Dialogues, he told people that the greatest lesson he had learnt in politics was, “Kuch bhi ho jaye, istifa mat dena (whatever happens, don’t resign).”

…and Dhir agrees

Former Vidhan Sabha speaker M S Dhir, who quit the AAP and returned to the BJP in November last year, said it was immature of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to resign from the CM’s post. “People think twice even before quitting a sweeper’s job. How can you just quit such an important office?” Dhir asked.

Lone man standing

The Bajrang Dal protest outside Delite cinema over the screening of the film PK ended soon after reporters left the scene. However, one protester who had sneaked inside the hall and managed to clamber on to a wall, was stranded. The police waited patiently for him, while he refused to descend. The officers kept urging: “Come down, we won’t do anything to you.” The solitary protester did climb down, but only after wasting half an hour of everyone’s time.

Lawyers ‘rewarded’

With the Delhi Assembly elections around the corner, the entire list of Central government standing counsels (CGSCs) practising in the Delhi High Court and the District courts has been changed with effect from December 30. Two additional central government standing counsels have also been added to the list of CGSCs. The “complete change” seems to be a form of “reward” for lawyers associated with the BJP’s legal cell, as about 80 per cent of the newly engaged panel counsels are members or have worked with it. A senior lawyer commented that the panel lists were changed “after several reminders” to ensure that the party members “work hard” for the upcoming elections.

Confident or desperate?

Many in the Congress had started campaigning even before their names had been announced. While some said this was because they were confident that their names will be announced, others said it was because they were desperate to remain relevant. “Most of those contesting will lose and they know it. Early campaigning at least means that you tried,” one such leader admitted.

Endless nursery woes

There is no worse time for parents seeking to get their children admitted into nursery than the new year. With most government education officers and school principals on vacation, some parents were left wondering if they too should have planned a vacation for themselves at the year end. “Admissions have been taking place from December, but no one is there to do anything. I cancelled my winter vacation to make sure things fall in place and my child gets admission. But I guess I could have taken one too,” a parent told Newsline.