Apparently, underworld don-turned-politician from Mumbai, Arun Gawli is irked with the fact that politicians get away with anything and criminals facing cases have to make endless rounds of the courts.‘‘There is rampant corruption everywhere in the government,’’he said during the discussion on Justice Sawant Commission report on allegations of corruption against four DF ministers, in the Assembly.‘‘If we have special courts to hear cases under MCOCA and POTA, why not set up special courts to try politicians facing corruption charges,’’ Gawli suggested amidst roars of laughter.Namdeo bin LadenFor the last two days, last week, security officers at Maharashtra’s Vidhan Bhawan—where the Budget Session of the Legislature is on—were avoiding the press.They did not want to answer uncomfortable questions regarding the ‘‘threat of a terrorist attack’’ on the premises. It was particularly interesting for the media, what with rumours of Raj Namdeo—a CRPF constable who killed his superior and held colleagues hostage at the Mumbai airport two years ago—becoming a terrorist doing the rounds. The rumour’s source was an anonymous letter received by Vidhan Bhavan security, saying that Namdeo had joined a Pak-based terrorist outfit and was likely to attack an “important” government premises in Mumbai along with two other terrorists. Unwilling to take a risk, a security officer sent a circular alerting all constables posted at the gates. A couple of alert scribes got wind of this and chased down security officers. Finally, Mumbai’s police chief A.N. Roy had to tell the media, it was only a rumour.Call me anytimeMaharashtra’s Energy and Medical Education Minister Dilip Walse-Patil has an interesting way of keeping abreast of goings-on in his departments.Recently at a seminar on medical education, Walse-Patil asked if anyone had grievances or complaints against their superiors. Understandably, no lower level officer was ready to speak out in front of the bosses. The minister then announced that any department staffer could call him on his cellphone, and, saying this, gave out his number. By evening, his mobile was ringing continuously. ‘‘I tried it successfully with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. I get to know everything happening in the board even before its chairman does,’’ he later explained.Nirupam’s long jumpEven before Sanjay Nirupam quit the Shiv Sena, the BJP was busy spreading tales of his ouster. Stung by his attack on Pramod Mahajan, the BJP trained its guns on the firebrand Sainik. A series of ‘‘off the record’’ bits of information slipped out of the BJP camp, feeding the media. Initially, according to the BJP, Nirupam was defecting to the Congress. They then decided that MP Sunil Dutt—who defeated Nirupam in last year’s Lok Sabha polls—was not keen on Nirupam entering into the Congress fold.Now that Nirupam has finally parted ways with the Sena, the BJP is in overdrive. Last heard, Nirupam was all set to join Lalu Yadav’s RJD! ‘‘Lalu needs a strong leader. dekho, Nirupam Bihar ka CM banega,’’ was a senior BJP leader’s verdict. Is Shotgun Sinha listening?Compiled by Shailesh Gaikwad and Haima Deshpande
