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Hasty presumption
NOW IT is almost certain that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is not coming to attend the BHEL golden jubilee celebration function on August 29. In fact, he never consented to grace the occasion. Yet, the BHEL management went to the town with the news of his arrival. Why?
NOW IT is almost certain that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is not coming to attend the BHEL golden jubilee celebration function on August 29. In fact, he never consented to grace the occasion. Yet, the BHEL management went to the town with the news of his arrival. Why?
It transpired that based on Union Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb’s assurance to the corporate management, the local management presumed that the PM has agreed to come to Bhopal. It is amazing indeed that none in Bhopal unit bothered to check what elaborate formalities precede the Prime Minister’s visit to any place.
Still CM?
The reality that he is no longer the chief minister has not sunk on Babulal Gaur yet. Or, so it seems, given the way he calls meetings of officers of various departments. Gaur’s ministerial colleagues are not exactly amused at his hyper-activism. Some senior ministers have reportedly complained about Gaur’s bossing around their departments’ officers. They suspect role of Gaur’s Man Friday behind the minister’s intrusion in the colleagues’ domain.
Misplaced patriotism
A Christian community leader recently found to his dismay that Deendayal Parisar is not a right place to debate patriotism. He had gone to the State BJP office to lodge protest against party’s district unit’s announcement to monitor singing of Vande Matram on September 7 in missionary schools. The Christian leader angrily quizzed some BJP leaders why the Indian Christians’ patriotism should be doubted by making such a statement.
Amid debate, a journalist intervened to ask why missionary schools don’t include the Vande Matram in the morning prayers? The loaded question filled a sense of hostility in the atmosphere and before further debate the leader left the office.
Indirect hint
A prominent guest squirmed on his seat as Governor Balram Jakhar decried vices like alcoholism and smoking among teachers in the foundation day function of the Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya. The man is quite well known in the fraternity as a great worshipper of Bacchus. As the Governor held forth on the vices, the audience wondered if the Mahamahim is indirectly targeting that particular guest. As though to further embarrass the guest,
Dr Jakhar even went on to say if as Governor he indulged in such habits it would not set a good example for the youth.
Sweet revenge
A voice troubled some officers and employees in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently continually for quite a while. The man would call on different BMC numbers and hurl choices of invectives.
Interestingly, he didn’t sound bitter. His motive remained unclear. In fact, the sound had a bizarre charm about it. Before the BMC could decide to identify the caller, calls stopped. The staff assumed that it might have been someone’s idea of sweet revenge for the corporation not measuring up to his expectation.
Poor time-management
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s poor time-management is getting all too visible for comfort - both to his aides as well as the guests in the functions he is supposed to attend. During the recent launch of LUN business portal, he arrived an hour late even after having deferred the time by an hour. The CM, who is fond of quoting Vivekananda, failed to turn up in the Ramakrishna Mission, Bellur Math’s ceremony at Ravindra Bhawan after keeping the audience waiting for an hour.
Contributed by Ranjan, Manish Dixit, Sravani Sarkar, Debobrat Ghose, Anil Dubey
