Delhi Underground

Riots cut short UP officials’ Lucknow visit

The rioting that occurred in Modinagar area of Ghaziabad last week seemed to have caused a lot of problems for the state District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police. They had to cut short their official visit to Lucknow and rush back as news of the riots came through. The visit was considered “important” as top officials often use such occasions to renew acquaintances and indulge in lobbying.

Arrested or not,that’s the question

About an hour after Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare were driven to the Government Officers’ Mess at Civil Lines after being arrested from Mayur Vihar,police barricades had to be shifted to make way for Anna supporter Shanti Bhushan. As waiting mediapersons went into a frenzy,Bhushan — helped by two relatives — was stopped at the second row of barricades at the entrance of the mess.Clearly taken by surprise at this apparent “change of heart” of the policemen,a journalist screamed,“Have you been arrested,Mr Bhushan?” Even as his relatives began arguing with the police,Bhushan replied in the positive: “Yes,yes,from Rajghat.” With none of the cops willing to answer his questions,another journalist came out with a new theory,“Are they separating you from Annaji? Is that why they won’t let you in?” However,as the cameras zoomed in to grab every bit of drama from the proceedings,Bhushan put the conspiracy theories to rest. “The DCP here did not know I had been arrested,” he explained,“I had to walk past the barricades on my own because the cops were busy with other protesters. As I had come here on my own,the cops posted here did not know that I had been arrested. That’s why they will not let me in.” Just then,the gates were opened,and Bhushan was escorted inside by an officer. However,his relatives were not as lucky. “We were also arrested from Rajghat. But now,they are telling us that we are free to go home,” his niece said.

Full-fledged campaign or pastime activity?

For all the talk of people’s support for the anti-corruption campaign,Delhiites don’t seem to be interested in hanging on to every directive issued by the Hazare camp. On August 16,after Hazare was arrested,Prashant Bhushan had appealed to the people to take leave en masse from their offices to participate in the protest. Needless to say,it did not quite work out as expected. The first two days of the protest at Ramlila Maidan was enough to suggest that the campaign was turning out to be an after-work activity for Delhiites. Another was a subtle call to fill the prisons,which also fell onto deaf ears. On August 16,many had come to Chhatrasal Stadium,asking the police to turn them in. However,when the cops relented in the end,few came forward to court arrest.

Fearing failure in exam,they moved HC

The Delhi High Court recently had to deal with a petition challenging a decision of the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences,wherein it had done away with the supplementary examinations for the Bachelors in Dental Sciences (BDS) course. What the judge found “interesting” was the fact that the petitioners were first-year students who had come to the court “fearing” that they may not be able to clear the examination. Justice S K Kaul said it was amusing how these students anticipated they would not pass the exams,and had decided to challenge the provision instead of studying harder. The court subsequently held that it was not its function to lay down norms for holding examinations and dismissed the plea,dubbing it meritless.

Team Anna pokes fun at govt,ministers

While briefing mediapersons on the Jan Lokpal Bill on Saturday evening,social activist Anna Hazare and his aides not only lashed out at the government but also poked fun at various ministers accused of being “corrupt”. Taking a dig at the Standing Committee,which is reviewing the Lokpal Bill,RTI activist and Anna aide Arvind Kejriwal sarcastically told protesters at Ramlila Maidan: “The Committee has people like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Amar Singh,and they are supposed to come up with a strong law for our country to root out corruption.” The crowd responded with a loud roar of laughter and applause. Anna then went on to say that Congressmen,who allege that the anti-corruption protests are sponsored by the BJP and RSS,should be “housed in mental homes”.