Bansal and Sreesanth
Chandigarh Congress is more or less synonymous with the disgraced Pawan Kumar Bansal, who as the Railway Minister, gave away top jobs in exchange of money. When Congress president BB Bahl met Rahul Gandhi and discussed the party affairs of Union Territory. Ironically, it was perhaps the first such meeting in which Bansal, the strongman of Chandigarh Congress and the local MP, was conspicuous by his absence. “As Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan are to the IPl, Bansal is to Chandigarh,” remarked a party leader here about the meeting and the absence of the local MP. The city unit does not know how to move ahead and what defence to take.
Captain is proud to carry Jat credentials
Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh wants to remain “president” of some organisations or the other. After being removed as the president of the Punjab Congress, the Maharaja of Patiala has become the president of the All India Jat Mahasabha. “Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia repeatedly refer to him as an unemployed politician. Perhaps he wants to remove the tag of unemployed,” remarked a party leader here. The Captain is on vacation since his removal as the State party chief. “Now his CV would also include president of the Jat Mahasabha and may help him get some assignment in the AICC,” the leader added.
leaders looking for media support
Reflecting the old adage “Self praise is no recommendation”, the Chandigarh BJP leaders are turning to the mediapersons now. With lok Sabha elections scheduled next year, the leaders are seeking their assistance to remain in the spotlight and reinforce their position as a party leader. A veteran party leader approached reporters and asked them to recommend his name to the national leaders as BJP’s candidate in the upcoming elections. local party president Sanjay Tandon, senior leaders Satya Pal Jain and Harmohan Dhawan are slated get party’s ticket from Chandigarh constituency.
UT buzzed with activities
Thanks to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Shivraj Patil, the senior UT officials were quite busy going for meetings almost every day this week. Perhaps, it was the first time in the last few years when proactive Patil kept the UT officials occupied convening hours-long meetings for three consecutive days this week. From metro project to UT’s various projects proposed for current fiscal year, Patil reviewed all during the meets. It was a week when the UT Administration virtually shifted its base to Punjab Raj Bhawan.
New Mall spells doom for Sector 17
Elante, the new mall in Chandigarh, has already started giving jitters to the shopkeepers of the age old and posh sector-17 market. With the summers at its peak the new mall has become a place of recluse for the denizens of the city and on the other hand, the once happening hangout now bears the silence of a cremation ground. Many shopkeepers of sector-17 market are loosing their valuable customers to the air-conditioned modern market. But even in Elante with footfalls and the toilet paper being mistaken for hand rubs, the jet streams installed semm to be breathing their last. The builders l&T however claim that their mall is world class but not so much for India.
(Contributed by Amitabh Shukla, Nishu Mahajan and Nitindra Bandyopadhyay)