Under the World

Loyalist’s Grouse

Infighting in the Congress party in Maharashtra may be nothing new,but old grouses were out on public display once again this week when spokesperson for the past seven years Anant Gadgil withdrew from party affairs,after months of complaining that his warnings on candidates for the Pune Municipal Corporation elections earlier this year had gone unheeded,and had led to a record defeat for the party in the city. A popular face on televised political debates for Marathi news channels,Gadgil was also overlooked once again when nominations were announced for the legislative council recently. While Gadgil appears to have left in a huff,several in the party are again lamenting the neglect of original Congress loyalists and the absence of a strong second rung of leaders.

The Hot Seat

Being in the Municipal Commissioner’s chair can get uncomfortable sometimes. This time,it is literally so. It seems that about three months into his tenure as municipal commissioner,Sitaram Kunte has now requested a more comfortable chair. The executive-style swivel chair,said officers,will cost the civic administration of the country’s richest municipal corporation about Rs 30,000,hardly a large sum for the BMC. Luckily,the officers won’t have to look too far for a suitable chair,since the commissioner has sought a chair of a specific brand which has a retail outlet pretty close to the municipal headquarters.

Reporters,Rioters

Last week,when 17 alleged rioters were produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court,policemen manning the small courtroom were overwhelmed to see a large posse of journalists waiting to gain access. Courtroom No 8 on the Killa Court premises,a small and dingy room,can barely accommodate half a dozen lawyers and floating batches of accused. So when hordes of scribes arrived at the entrance for the production of those accused of rioting outside Azad Maidan on August 11,the policemen on duty had a difficult time handling the crowd. Finally,on one woman reporter’s suggestion,the consensus was built that only women scribes should be given permission to enter while male counterparts be shown the door. One constable guarding the court room was heard explaining: “Reporters aur rioters mein farak nahi samaj raha hai. Sirf ladies ko entry di jayegi.”

Sibal’s straight talk

“I have completely failed in reducing coaching and the IIT system is responsible for that” was one of the “memorable quotes” by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal during a session with IIT Bombay students last week,according to an online article posted by students on the webpage of “Insight”,the institute’s student media body. The students fielded several tough questions to the minister,including the rushed decision to increase the number of seats at IITs even though the infrastructure has not kept pace. According to the article,Sibal told the students that the government “can’t wait for the infrastructure in the IITs to be set up for taking policy decisions” since the demand for seats was only increasing. The students concluded their post stating that the talk was a “great initiative” but Sibal’s answers “didn’t quite satisfy” students who had expected unambiguous answers.

Creative legal licence

Courts of law can sometimes be used as a forum to make rather creative allegations of wrongdoing. Recently,a judge of the Bombay High Court while hearing the case of a petitioner-in-person said after she finished her arguments,“Perhaps you should leave your present occupation and write scripts for films.” Interestingly,as many as four different cases filed by this person were listed for hearing on this day alone. So,by the time the litigant appeared before the Bench for the third time (within about an hour),she was not sure what she was arguing for. To this,the judge noted,“This happens to very senior counsel who handle several matters at a time. You seem to have reached that level.”

Playing Safe

A poster put up by Saamna,the Marathi daily and mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena,at Worli naka and last seen on Thursday night was suddenly removed the following day. The poster had a picture of one of the miscreants destroying the Amar Jyoti memorial at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus during the violence that erupted at Azad Maidan on August 11. It carried a message saying that anyone who identifies the miscreant would be rewarded Rs 51,000. The police perhaps thought this would foment trouble,particularly after the recent mammoth rally of MNS’s Raj Thackeray. The poster was quietly removed.