Chandigarh Confidential

Clicked & caught on wrong foot

A proclaimed offender in a murder case,Jaswinder Singh alias Rocky,not only managed a photo op with Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde — if sources in Congress are to be believed — he was soon slated to join the Punjab Congress to play a bigger innings. “He was keeping those who matter in good humour to bag the party ticket from Fazilka in the next Assembly elections. He also moves in Akali cricles. No wonder he escaped the net of the Chandigarh and Punjab Police,” said a Congress leader.

Exclusive angle

AT the grim occasion of Sarabjit Singh’s cremation,it was not just Congress and SAD leaders jostling for space. TV channels too seemed to be struggling to get a square inch of extra space near the cordoned off area to bring better pictures to their viewers. One particular channel,which managed to get a better vantage point than the others,went ballistic telling the viewers that it was the only channel that has this footage and the camera was covering this whole thing from an “exclusive” angle. Coming up next: “Breaking angles”.

Cattle and horses

It was sheer coincidence or bad luck that the much-awaited cattle from Pakistan,which Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had ordered,arrived the day Sarabjit was cremated. The arrival of cattle became media fodder in minutes,which forced the government to quickly issue a press note that the cattle were ordered some time ago and was “bought” from Pakistan and not “gifted” by the neighboring country. Not knowing that they had made it to national headlines,the cattle also don’t know that they are sharing space with the largest and the smallest horses in the world that the Badals have in their livestock farm.

All for a good fight

Never to say no to an election,Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Sinbh Badal is looking forward to the panchayat polls. Confident that the poll results will go in his favour,Sukhbir does not want anything to happen that might steal his thunder. His close aides say he has asked all deputy commissioners to ensure that no Congress candidate is rejected during the nomination process on any account. If a Congress candidate’s nomination papers are faulty,the administration should ensure that the candidate is informed about it and the forms re-filled. “What is the fun of winning without a fight?” Sukhbir told a close aide.

Vat blues

Punjab excise and taxation department officials have been getting jitters ever since the target of collecting VAT has been fixed for Rs 19,000 crore for 2013-14. An who earlier had to collect around Rs 10 lakh VAT per month,will now have to collect double the amount. “There is too much burden. Two officials have also resigned,” said a senior official said.

Victory of sorts

Getting wealth tax abolished is being seen as Punjab Congress’ big achievement. Now,speculations are rife about who helped party chief Partap Singh Bajwa in this task? Some insiders said a steel Industrialist — close to both President Pranab Mukherjee and Bajwa — helped in getting it abolished it. Others say that with this,UPA at the Centre wanted to send out a message about its strength in Punjab.

‘Dabangg’ MLA

A huge crowd in Ludhiana’s Silver Arc Mall gathered to have a glimpse of on screen ‘Dabangg’ Salman Khan recently. But what they witnessed was the real life ‘dabangg’ with lead roles played by MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashoo and SHO Nirmal Singh. The MLA picked an argument with the SHO,which soon turned into a fight with abuses being hurled.

East meet West

It is a rare sight when Congress and BJP echo similar views on an issue. This is what happened in Ludhiana when Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashoo and BJP leader Surinder Dabur supported each other. This not only surprised the Akalis but also the public who were present. This happened during a demolition drive planned by Ludhiana Municipal Corporation,where both these leaders arrived and started raising their voices against the demolition. While the crowd was bewildered,Ludhiana Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria — who is from SAD — was completely taken aback.

Real good

The Haryana government has once again tried to look after the interests of real estate developers,if recent appointment at higher level are of any indication. The town and country department,in the recent past,had been tough with developers and their projects which were on the verge of closure. While many projects were moving at a snail’s pace,others faced threat of a shut down. The government,which has enough at stake,wanted to bring bring a change,hence the recent changes at the top. No wonder,the changes are good news for realtors,as those who have been appointed are their “apne log”.

Dhillon,a step closer

Finally,Sudeep Singh Dhillon has made his way to the Haryana Chief Minister’s Office as additional principal secretary. He was among the front runners when there was a race to grab the post of the principal secretary to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,following the retirement of Chhatar Singh two months ago. But Hooda surprised everybody by re-employing Singh for three months and thus,inviting resentment within his office. However,Dhillon’s appointment about a month before the end of Singh’s tenure is being looked as a hint that he is a step closer to step in Singh’s shoes.

Transferring inertia

With the courtroom packed and lawyers slamming each other,a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court saw Punjab Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal standing. The Bench requested lawyers to offer the senior lawyer a seat. Aggarwal’s response was that he was comfortable and wanted to remain standing. “We do not want you to remain standing because we fear the inertia,which you will gather by remaining on your toes,will be transferred to us,” the Bench told him in a lighter vein.

Last laugh

The disappointment of his petition being dismissed turned into joy after the detailed copy of the judgment was released to former Punjab DGP S S Virk. On the other hand,the jubilation of Punjab law officers turned to sorrow after reading the judgment. For,though dismissing Virk’s petition,the Punjab and Haryana High Court came up with a damaging finding that investigation against Virk was “unfair” and “not impartial”. The finding is also an embarrassment for current DGP Sumedh Singh Saini — and arch rival of Virk. The current investigating officer,whose removal Virk had sought in his petition,is facing a probe pending with Saini,who was the then director of Vigilance Bureau that had arrested Virk.

No proclamation please

After a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court stretched out for over half-an-hour leaving lawyers yawning,the judge took a pause to wake up them up. Reminded of a similar episode,the judge smilingly said: “Once a lawyer,bored with lengthy arguments in a case,dozed off awaiting his turn. Till the time he was sleeping,it was fine but the problem started when the legal luminary started snoring. The lawyer was finally interrupted by the judge who advised him not to proclaim.” Moral of the story — no problem if you are found sleeping. “The problem starts when you start ‘proclaiming’ it,” the judge quipped.

Waiting for opportunity

Even before the CBI confirmed the arrest and raid on the premises of Vijay Singla,nephew of Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal,BJP went into an overdrive to demand Bansal’s resignation. SMSes,emails were sent demanding his instant resignation. While Singla arrested by the CBI,the BJP,like a crouching tiger,pounced on Bansal. Obviously,party leaders had been looking for such an opportunity for a long time.

Under scanner

Under attack over disclosing its report on the coal allocation scam to the PMO office and Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar,the local CBI had to put up a brave front to defend its investigation report in a land scam in Bathinda. While the CBI counsel maintained that the investigation report cannot be provided to the Punjab government or any other party,the parties involved in the case demanded access to it. Countering the demand,the CBI lawyer told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it can peruse the confidential report if required but to supply the same to the parties involved will put the safety of witnesses in jeopardy. Not amused,the judge said: “Your reports are being read by everybody,even before they reach the court.” Not in this case at least,the lawyer responded.

Thanking the foes

Dakha MLA and Ludhiana Zila Parishad Chairman Manpreet Singh Ayali is on cloud nine after the zila parishad was given a national award by the UPA government for his performance. Though the MLA always condemns the UPA,but this time,he was all praise. As the award — the zila parishad scored 93 out of 100 — came just before the panchayat elections,Ayali hopes it will be of great help in the election campaign. In a way,Ayali was thanking the UPA for the award,which according to him will be the winning mantra for candidates. “The UPA government has acted as a facilitator,” said his supporter.

CBI’s interpretations

The CBI has lately lost its sheen,as it is being attacked from all quarters for its questionable role in certain high profile cases. So much so that the abbreviation CBI has derived many meanings. They included — Congress Bureau of Investigation,Corrupt Bureau of Investigation,Compromising Bureau of Investigation and Coward Bureau of Investigators.

Hooda’s far sightedness

Recently,the Haryana cabinet decided that all the former CMs will be given rank and facilities of a cabinet minister. This included rent free accommodation,staff,security and a chauffer driven official vehicle. Though Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda could not give any convincing justification for such a move,the opposition took it as an opportunity to slam him. HJC’s Kuldeep Bishnoi and INLD’s Abhay Chautala said Hooda has conceded to the fact that there will be no third term for him and thus,was making arrangements for himself. The cabinet’s decision is as such quite evident because there is no former Haryana CM alive,except for Hukam Singh — not active in the state politics anymore — and Om Parkash Chautala,who is now cooling his heels in Tihar Jail in Delhi.