Punjab Diary: Challa, Bulleh Shah at R-Day events
Chandigarh: On Friday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann surprised everyone by rendering ‘Challa’ during the At Home function at the Raj Bhawan on Republic Day. At a separate event in the city, AAP MP Vikramjit Sahney (in photo) rendered a kalam by Baba Bulleh Shah and also showed his love for one of Punjab’s most celebrated poets, Shiv Kumar Batalvi. The audience included Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Cabinet Ministers Harjot Singh Bains, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Dr Balbir Singh and Aman Arora, Special Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, VK Singh, and Chief Secretary Anurag Verma.
Happy birthday ‘Mrs Mantri Sahib’
Amritsar: A large number of supporters of a Cabinet Minister went to wish his wife on her birthday earlier this week. Of the cakes that appeared there, the one with ‘Mrs Mantri Sahib’ written on it was the cynosure of all eyes. The supporters posted on social media a photograph of ‘Mrs Mantri’ cutting the cake. Nothing out of place with people addressing the wife of the minister as ‘Mrs Mantri Sahib’, for she is often seen attending public events on his behalf!
Friends turn political foes
Batala: Not long ago, former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar were as thick as thieves, standing by each other in times of need. In the 2017 Gurdaspur parliamentary bypoll, Randhawa ensured Jakhar took a 40,000 lead from his Assembly seat, Dera Baba Nanak. Again in 2019, when Sunny Deol threatened to run riot in all nine Assembly segments during the Lok Sabha election, Randhawa ensured Jakhar got a lead of 20,000 from Dera. Jakhar is articulate in his attacks, Randhawa’s retorts carry logic. Now, whenever the former attacks the Congress, Randhawa subtly asks him to keep quiet since his own nephew, Sandeep Jakhar, is a Congress MLA.
‘Dying cadre’
Gurdaspur: The Punjab Police have a department called the ‘dying cadre’. This name has been given to a particular department where no new recruitment is done, despite officials retiring regularly. Officials working in this particular cadre opine that it is high time the nomenclature is changed because the name in itself gives a ‘repulsive feeling’. Among the several names suggested are ‘disintegrating cadre’ and ‘stagnant cadre’, both of which sound better than ‘dying cadre’. The term ‘Dying cadre’, however, repugnant, has endured since it’s a British-era term and no one at the top is willing to change it.
Pathankot’s demo man
Pathankot: DC Harbir Singh’s anti-encroachment drive has angered shopkeepers. The officer is surprising everyone by regularly driving to crowded areas and making sure the encroachments are removed. Whenever they see the DC coming, shopkeepers are quick to call MLA Ashwani Sharma. On earlier occasions, the MLA used to arrive, give a speech or two and drive home. But after he was informed that it’s the shopkeepers who are the actual ‘villains’ of the piece, he has stopped responding to their calls.
