Kolkata confidential

No takers
Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee is offering jobs to journalists,especially those she considers to be anti-CPM. Of late she has drawn up a list of journalists,mostly from local television channels and print media and is offering them jobs,with good salaries,as special officers in the six ministries which her party holds. One of the journalists was also offered the job of her media manager,a position currently enjoyed by party MLA Madan Mitra. Till date,however,the chosen journalists are yet to accept her offer. “It is a job for five years,as long she and her party stays with UPA and UPA stays in power. What will happen then?” said a journalist,who received such an offer and is yet to accept it.

Poor timing
Maidan wit is a commodity that is getting rare by the day. One flash of humour at the Cricket Association of Bengal,however,brought the house down last week. It was about Sourav Ganguly’s timing. As a batsman,Ganguly always thrived on his timing. Off the field,it goes awry at crucial moments. Said a CAB official from the Jagmohan Dalmiya camp: “Last year,he made a public appeal that Tata should persist with its Nano factory in Singur. The company left at once! This time,just a few days after submitting his representation papers for the forthcoming CAB annual general meeting with an eye on the BCCI working committee,he gave such an interview to a television channel that the Cricket Board had to issue a denial. Timing is letting him down!” Everything was said tongue-in-cheek,and the members had a hearty laugh.

Final days
Has Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya lost all hope of winning the KMC elections slated to be held early next year? Or may be he thinks even if the Marxists win,they will not elect him as mayor. Otherwise why almost during every interaction with media, Bhattacharya says with folded hands: “My days at KMC are numbered. And I am not coming back here again. Why pester me for answers for all your questions?”

Gag them
A gag order is doing the rounds in Trinamool Congress,with their chief Mamata Banerjee ordering all other leaders to keep mum on critical issues. Recently,Banerjee told her top leaders to desist from making comments in public or to the media,before asking her. Mediapersons,who called up leaders like Partha Chatterjhee,leader of the Opposition in state Assembly or any of the Union ministers in her camp,often get to hear,“Sorry,but I have to ask Didi before I can say anything. That is what Didi said to us all and we have to abide by it.” Sources say the gag order came in place after some leaders spoke out openly on the issue of alliance with Congress,and expressed their dissatisfaction. Even simple,harmless questions are now avoided by party leaders,who do not want to earn the wrath of their supremo.