Kolkata Confidential

Mail-storm in Didi’s office
Now a days,Trinamool leaders and MPs are quite busy writing letters to none other than their party chief,Mamata Banerjee — the reason being Mamata’s new diktat after the embarrassing Kabir Suman episode. Since Suman,Lok Sabha MP from Jadavpur,had publicly aired his grievances about the interference from party workers in carrying out development works in his constituency,Mamata has directed everyone not to go to media if they have any complaints and instead send letters to her in a sealed envelope. Since the order has come from didi,Trinamool MPs are sending letters to her almost on a daily basis. Apart from a host of complaints,they are also sending suggestions.

“After the recent controversy,Mamata realised it was not possible for her to listen to everyone’s problems personally. So she asked everyone to write letters in sealed envelopes,” said a close aide of Mamata. But this has created a new problem for the Trinamool chief. “Almost every MP and senior leaders are writing to her and the number of letters,which she receives everyday,is so large that it is getting difficult for her to read them all,” the aide added.

Lips sealed only for cameras
After the gag order,Left Front leaders and ministers are looking for an alternative way to ventilate their grievances against the big brother CPM. The leaders felt that making statements before the camera would be a “risky affair”,as refuting them later would be difficult. Some of the leaders and ministers,who are openly criticising “the failures of the government”,have now decided that they will make comments “off camera”. “The printed version can be easily denied,” quipped a Left Front minister. “We will say and under pressure we will deny them,” the minister added.

Red Fort tour for Reds
Besides chalking out plans to take on Capitalism,comrades from all over the world who had assembled here for the international Communist conclave over the weekend got a chance to understand a few things about Indian history as well. The hosts — CPI and CPM — took the delegates to the Red Fort for a sightseeing trip where they watched the sound-and-light show on Mughal era and the history of the fort itself. For the comrades,who had seen and experienced the reign of Communism and its collapse in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,it was a rare opportunity to have a look at the Mughal architecture.

Cops sole law abider!
The recent order issued by the administration regarding the removal of tinted glasses from private vehicles seems to have no impact on ministers and senior IAS officials. The state and the city police officers are the only ones who are adhering to the new rules. “We had tried to implement the rule earlier. But then also,only the police officers abided by the rules. At present,the senior government officials and political functionaries are not bothered about the new rules. Being the keeper of law,we had to remove the tinted glasses from our cars. It seems that we are always at the receiving end,” said a police officer after he failed to remove the tinted glasses from the cars belonging to politicians and IAS officials.

Games that canines play
The increasing number of stray dogs on Kolkata streets is turning out to be a nightmare not only for the police but also educational institutions. While Kolkata police conduct night raids to deal with canine menace,the universities and colleges are also dealing with the problem in a separate way. Last week,work at the library of Calcutta University’s Psychology Department came to a complete halt for three consecutive days after a stray dog entered the building. Even the attempt made by the university staff to lure the dog leave the library building by offering it biscuits failed to yield results. Finally,on the third day when the staff found the library in a mess,the university decided to take help of the civic officials.