Regional journal: Ashwini Vaishnaw, LLB

A journalist with public broadcaster Doordarshan found himself in the dock recently when he asked Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw a question the minister had already answered in his press meet. After the scribe finished asking, the minister took him on: “There is something called LLB, the ‘Lord of Last Benches’. I used to be an LLB as a student and would always take the back benches. It is easier to sleep that way. Aaram se so jao (sleep easy),” Vaishnaw said to the journalist seated in the last rows and wound up by asking if there were any more LLBs in the conference hall.

When Jitendra Singh paid Rs 5-bribe!

Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh recently revealed that he, as a student, had paid a bribe of Rs 5 to an agent who promised him help with attestation of documents by a gazetted officer. In a lighter vein, Singh also said those days common people used to wonder what the powerful gazetted officers looked like and whether they had “two noses and four ears”. “Little had I known that years later, I would be part of a government that would drop the requirement of document certification by gazetted officers, enabling self-attestation instead,” said the minister.

Grand toilet inauguration

Imagine a public toilet being inaugurated with much fanfare by setting up tents, playing ‘dhol’ and celebrating as if a mammoth developmental work had been accomplished. Unbelievable, but true! This happened in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, where Health and Family Welfare Minister DR Shandil inaugurated a public toilet in a park. Whether it reflected desperation to affix one’s plaque at the site or hog the limelight over whatever the occasion be is anyone’s guess as few inaugurations are held given the fund crunch plaguing the government.

Another Amritpal in spot

Amritpal is not just a name. It is an identity crisis in Punjab these days. Even the public asks, “Hor kehda Amritpal?” To clear the confusion: one Amritpal Singh is a jailed MP from Khadoor Sahib facing serious charges under the National Security Act. The other, Amritpal Singh Mehron, is on the run, accused of masterminding the murder of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari, aka Kamal Kaur Bhabhi. Even the cops and journos seem confused now, asking, “Pehla Amritpal ya doosra?”

Bulldozing logic

When it comes to razing the houses of alleged drug smugglers, the authorities often claim “these were built on government land”. People often ask what these officials were doing when such houses were being constructed. Why did they not act then? Officials claim that they follow the Supreme Court guidelines by issuing notices in advance. Does anybody know that these notices never reach the people whose houses they have to demolish? These officials are certainly oblivious to the saying that “there is no crueller tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice”.

Frontrunner from nowhere

Several names have been floated as the potential candidates for the post of the president of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee over the last couple of months. As the race is nearing the end, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar has emerged as the frontrunner from nowhere. He seems to be in good books of all factions of the party in the state, and is most likely to be made the next HPCC chief. But then, one never knows in politics!

Govt offices in yoga overdrive

In the run-up to the International Yoga Day, all ministries and centrally-owned entities were in overdrive. They were directed to observe the occasion by organising workshops during early morning hours, even though it was a weekend — a Saturday. Moreover, yoga mats in hundreds could be seen being distributed to every official in the offices of central ministries before the mega event.

Power plaints, poll connect

Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was recently overwhelmed by over 30,000 power complaints on its dashboard. As the majority of complaints couldn’t be resolved, the complaint dashboard, which had been public for the past around a decade, was suddenly suspended. Interestingly, Ludhiana, which went to the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll on June 19, reported the maximum number of complaints. At least officials look relieved as they don’t have to face prodding questions from journalists, who rely on the dashboard data.

Contributed by Aditi Tandon, Ambika Sharma, Archit Watts, Ravi Dhaliwal, Subhash Rajta, Animesh Singh and Aman Sood