CM’s chair for one and allIJ
Telling a sad story of the low the political culture of the state has plunged into, one of the followers of a public representative was found sitting on the chair meant for the chief minister. The public representative went to Bijapur guest house to meet the CM. He was accorded a warm welcome for his feat to deal a deadly blow to his party. He along with his foot soldiers was ushered into the room designated for the ministers and MlAs. Sitting comfortably, he started making calls while one of his riff-raffish followers seated himself on the chair the CM is supposed to sit on. He seemed to have no qualm of what he had done. When quizzed, he said the CM’s seat was more comfortable than the rest. The former MlA said that he had not seen the thing as he was busy taking up calls on his cell. One wonders how the CM, if informed, would react. Maybe, he would smile away the matter indulgently, affirming his avowal by the true spirit of democracy. He might say that everybody has a right to sit on his chair to have a direct feel of it. But even in a democracy, decorum enjoys a very important place which can be undermined only to the detriment of the soul of democracy.
Babu blackmailed
Spawning speculations in the gossip-hungry Babudom, a close aide of the CM who deals with the bureaucracy on behalf of his boss literally stormed into the office of one of the babus in the secretariat. He asked him in a clear tone of intimidation to clear some files he was supposed to have been sitting upon for a considerably long time. The babu was embarrassed as he takes pains to steer clear of the limelight unlike most of his colleagues. However, the most interesting part of the story lies elsewhere. The member of the CM’s charmed circle asked the babu point blank to take more care of the interests a particular region from which both hail. When things became known-one wonders how- some babus indignantly said that it was nothing short of an emotional blackmail. It amounts to tightening the screws around the babus who have not learnt the art of bending over backwards to please the political bosses. The unassuming babu humbly asked the aide of the CM to spare him the embarrassment he was subjected to by calling him up by phone or by any other means instead of taking him by storm as he has recently done.