Delhi Underground: Silver Lining

The Delhi unit of the Congress arranged a big luncheon to introduce candidates of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls to the press. The candidates got delayed due to traffic on their way to the party office. As soon as they arrived, the NSUI president sensed the growing anxiety in the room and quickly introduced the candidates. He told the press, “Those who want to speak to the candidates can do so but those who only want to have lunch can do that as well.”

Believe it, you won

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a press conference on Saturday, soon after they had swept the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. Having won the polls just a few hours ago, the victory had clearly not sunk in for the activists. While introducing the winners to the media, ABVP state secretary Saket Bahuguna kept referring to them as candidates contesting on various posts.

Story time

While handing out education loan cheques to students as he launched the Delhi government’s higher education student loan scheme, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia told a gathering of students a story. The story was of a dacoit who wanted a horse owned by a Baba. “The dacoit pretended to be poor and helpless and asked the Baba for help. As the Baba dismounted the horse, the dacoit pushed him and took his horse. The Baba only told him one thing. He said you can flee with the horse but don’t tell anyone that you fooled me by posing as a needy person or no one will help the needy.” The students were quick to catch the moral of the story.

Dengue troubles

With the Delhi government’s birth and death records throwing up 1,200 dengue deaths since 2014 against 29 claimed by municipal corporations, doctors at the government’s vector-borne disease control programme said they were yet to be “briefed” on the line they should maintain. They first said that all government agencies were speaking in “one voice”. When shown the report and comments from the director of the birth and death records bureau, an official said, “The health minister was away so we have not been briefed about this yet. We will know our position in the next review meeting.”

English vs Hindi press

Last week, mediapersons from Delhi were ferried to Faridabad by the Haryana government for the Prime Minister’s rally after he inaugurated the Delhi-Faridabad metro line. The bus carrying them to the rally grounds, however, met with an unexpected hindrance. Police said they were not authorised to let in anyone from the press. Those in the bus wondered why this happened. A person from the Hindi language press conjectured, “Arre, they stopped us because of these English wala newspapers and mediapersons, I think. These people don’t understand the sandesh the PM gives. They misquote and misinterpret his meaning, unlike us. We are being stopped because of them.” The bus was later allowed to enter.

‘Official’ humour

The bureaucratic circles are known for their humour. Stuck in a routine of pushing files, they try to devise ways to amuse themselves. One such recent prank by a bureaucrat calls for renaming the Delhi Sachivalaya to Delhi Shauchalaya. “It seems that despite an AAP government in power, the bureaucrats seem more inspired and impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat cause,” jibes one bureaucrat.