Kolkata Confidential

Somnath Chatterjee,known for his straight forwardness and wit,was at his best during a recent inauguration ceremony in Rajarhat,where he shared the dias with Pranab Mukherjee. As his turn came to deliver a speech,he went up and said: “Pranabbabu is the most popular politician from Bengal. We all love him. I would personally love him more,if he sees to the fact that I start getting my pension soon.” And he himself broke into fits of laughter,followed by Mukherjee and others on the stage and in the audience.

Acquired Immuno Gherao Syndrome
For senior teachers of Jadavpur University,being gheraoed by students is not a new experience. There is,however,a change in trend now,with students wisely realising that the authorities they want to make an impact on are often in deep slumber,literally,as they relax in their comfortable rooms. Not surprisingly,there has been no gherao incident reported ever since three students were rusticated last week.

CMO at Writers’,is chief secy amused?
Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti seems peeved over the growing clout of Subesh Das,principal secretary to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,who has taken a special initiative to set up a chief minister’s office (CMO) at Writers’ Building. Chakrabarti apprehends that once the CMO is set up,his powers would be curbed.

“Had Amit Kiran Deb,(Chakrabarti’s predecessor) been there,do you think he would have allowed it?” asked one official.

Police chief no fan of Salman’s ‘bare’ act
It seems Salman Khan’s image of taking off his shirt and enticing the crowd led Joint Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborti to say ‘no’ to the organisers,who wanted the Bollywood star to participate in a 15-minute friendly football match. Union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed,who was the main organiser,asked Jawed Shamim,joint commissioner of police,to provide security for the match. Shamim,however,refused,saying he does not have enough men to deploy at the ground during Pujas. In his close circle,he is believed to have said that Salman Khan has a specific fan club that follows the Bolywood star’s shirtless antics. And the Kolkata Police cannot handle around 15,000 bare-bodied people.

Bureaucratic crunchin state
It seems there is a severe dearth of IAS officers in the state.

The paucity of bureaucrats came to the fore after the government failed to find another officer to take temporary charge as Under Secretary to the state government after the incumbent P M K Gandhi went on a 15-day leave. As a result,the PS to the Under Secretary is these days seen running from the room of one secretary to another to get their signatures on important files. “The office of the under secretary is very important but there has been no one in-charge of it for a fortnight now,” an official said. “This shows the state of affairs of the state government,” an official said,he added.