Delhi underground: AAP receives legal notice from BJP’s ‘CM candidate’

High regard
The AAP expressed surprise at BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi sending a legal notice to Arvind Kejriwal regarding posters that portrayed Mukhi as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi. “On what grounds have they sent a legal notice to us? By putting his name on our posters, we have expressed the high regard that we have for him. We feel that he is capable of becoming the Delhi chief minister,” a senior AAP leader said.

Black not allowed
Under instructions from local BJP leaders, woman police officers refused to let two journalists, wearing black, into the park at Tilak Vihar, where Home Minister Rajnath Singh was about to arrive for an event. When the journalists protested, the officers said they had been instructed not to let anyone dressed in black inside. It turns out that BJP leaders suspected AAP members carrying black flags would disrupt the programme.

Changing tact
With the single bench denying him relief, former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti moved the court of the Chief Justice against the NHRC. The court initially asked him to plead his case after the vacations. But his counsel said the case was urgent because the election season was heating up. About 20 minutes into arguments, the court appeared to be unimpressed and said it was reserving its order. The counsel then immediately changed his line of argument and asked the court for permission to be heard by a different bench during the vacations.

Minor disruption
The Delhi Police was faced with a dilemma when a pick-pocket was caught during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Barapullah Phase III. While Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who laid the foundation stone, was addressing the gathering, the audience suddenly shouting “chor chor”, referring to the pick-pocket.

While a police officer of the rank of an inspector tried to make his way through the crowd, another officer signalled to him to attend to the minister. “Yahan dhyaan rakho, crowd sambhaal legi usse (Pay attention to Rajnath Singh. The crowd will handle the thief)”. People let the pick-pocket go after they recovered the stolen amount.

Internal disharmony?
BJP party workers who held various charges in the last Assembly elections are feeling threatened. As the elections are drawing near, new people have joined the party and to accommodate them, they have been attached with those already working in various cells. With the “new members” hogging all the limelight, the “old” ones are feeling left out. And they are not hiding their displeasure about the fact either.

Setting priorities
When a journalist complained to a senior police officer, asking him why he was not taking calls when a gruesome acid attack case was reported in the city last week, the officer got miffed. “I don’t understand. Should I be answering your calls or should I be concentrating my energy on solving the case? And if we fail to crack the case and nab the accused, it is the media which pillory us.” As an afterthought, he said, “I am seriously thinking of appointing someone who will specifically cater to the media and answer its queries.”

Caught off guard
After a private hospital declared the first suspected swine flu death on Friday, Health department officials were caught off guard. Designated officials, including the nodal officer for swine flu and the director of health services, were both on leave. The official who was handling the charge was not intimated about the case. As a result, the department was in a quandary with a flood of calls from the media. With the director insisting he would be able to provide information on the case only after he resumed duty next week, top officials had to intervene to have the nodal officer for swine flu speak to authorities in the private hospital and then brief the media.

Time wasted
In a high-profile corruption case, the special court pulled up the prosecution for wasting the court’s time due to the non-availability of prosecution witnesses. The court warned the prosecution, saying it would impose “exemplary cost” for delaying the case. “The whole day is lost because of non-availability of witnesses. If the prosecution fails to procure the presence of witnesses in future, it shall be subjected to exemplary cost for wasting the time of the court,” the judge observed.