Regional Journal: Untold stories from the provinces
Chief Justice humour
Chief Justice of India Y V Chandrachud is widely acknowledged to be an extraordinary judge, both erudite and compassionate — both of which he demonstrated in large doses during his visit to Chandigarh over the weekend. At PGI, he talked about how his daughter, Priyanka, a girl with special needs, had been admitted to the hospital for 44 days for respiratory distress when the family was on holiday in Shimla in 2021 — and how he paced the corridors of PGI talking to doctors, while his wife stayed with their daughter. At the Chandigarh Judicial Academy, he won the hearts of the audience by walking up the auditorium and greeting all the guests. Evidently, few people do that these days. But there was more to come — who knew that the CJI also has a wry sense of humour. Responding to the young woman lawyer who introduced him at the podium with heaps of praise, Chandrachud recounted the time he was visiting his sister in the US and her offspring told him, “There are only two people in the world my mother thinks are amazing. The first is my brother and the other is our pet dog.”
Bangla Army chief postpones visit
Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was expected to come to India on an official visit this month, is not likely to come anytime soon. After the August 5 ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, everything has changed. India remains watchful, especially as the Bangladesh Army is likely to play a greater role running the country, even if it is behind the scenes. Nevertheless, military diplomacy will remain one key instrument of India reaching out to Dhaka. Remember that Air Force chief VR Chaudhari and Naval chief DK Tripathi had visited Bangladesh in February and June, respectively.
Flattery Babu
Flattery cannot always get you places. A senior bureaucrat, whose retirement is around the corner, and is eyeing a plush post-retirement job, perhaps he thought he could get his dream post-retirement posting by flattering CM Bhagwant Mann. So during an official meeting, before he waded into the issues at hand, he began to sing praises of CM, only to be stopped immediately by Mann, who was apparently ticked off by the flattery. This has set tongues wagging in the corridors of power, with many believing that this was the CM’s way of conveying that the “job” would not be given to the babu.
Who’s the boss, asks Gadkari
At a recent meeting chaired by Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi to review the progress of national highway projects in Punjab, a senior IAS officer from the state referred to the Supreme Court’s observations regarding land acquisition issues. This prompted Gadkari to ask his team of officers to tell this Punjabi officer who is supreme, when it comes to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects. The bureaucrat immediately responded with folded hands, “No intention to offend you, Sir.”
Power helpline
The Punjab Police helpline 112 has remained overly busy during the paddy sowing season. The reason was that several consumers, suffering from power cuts, chose to call the police helpline asking for help in restoring the power supply, asking them to communicate with the Power Corporation in “typical Punjab Police” style. As tubewells are run on double shifts in the paddy season to irrigate the fields, there is a diversion of power from residential and commercial areas to agriculture, resulting in power cuts in the former. Hopefully, the rain and resultant lower demand for power will keep the police helpline free for crime-related matters.
Contributed by Saurabh Malik, Ajay Banerjee, Ruchika Khanna, Nitin Jain & Mohit Khanna
