Chit-chat on filesin secretariat

Some files moved in the secretariat are full of charges and counter-charges. A senior IAS officer is reported to have written a letter to the state administrative reforms department pointing towards the follies made by chief secretary Anup Mukerji while conducting a probe into alleged anomalies in the Birla Industrial Area Development Authority land allotment. We receive around 150 such letters every day,” a weary official of the department said, insisting that the department was looking into the matter. If letters written by officers in the secretariat and the police headquarters are compiled and published as a book, it would certainly be a bestseller.”A senior cop had written on his file that the state DGP (not the present one) was ‘economic offender friendly’. Another disgusted senior officer asked his two juniors not to make government files a battleground for their personal enmity by writing notes against each other, a senior IAS officer said.

Shield for wrong tree

During the Raksha Bandhan festival, chief minister Nitish Kumar made a green gesture by tying rakhi on a tree at Eco Park. His ministers followed suit. The chief minister made
an appeal to the people to tie rakhis on trees and ensure that those trees were safe. “It’s one lucky tree having the chief minister and so many ministers to protect it. But it is the wrong tree and it does not need to be protected,” an onlooker said. The tree on which Nitish and his cabinet colleagues tied rakhi was a large peepal tree. According to the onlooker, the chief minister and other ministers should have tied rakhis on smaller trees, which are susceptible to cattle and persons having no respect for environment.

Darbar everywhere

Some janata darbars of the chief minister could not take place because of his preoccupation or some special occasions. But wherever the chief minister goes, there is always a large crowd ready with their petitions. When the chief minister visited his native village Kalyan Bigha to kick off the JD(U)’s Green Campaign by planting saplings, a large number of people wanted to give their petitions to the chief minister or his close aides. “This is not the janata darbar and you should come to Patna to give the petitions,” a weary aide of Nitish told one of the petitioners.

Iftar party

A large number of people turned up at chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Iftar party at 1 Aney Marg last Thursday. “There was an elaborate menu which consisted non-vegetarian items. During the Lalu-Rabri era, Iftar parties were hosted but used to be no non-vegetarian dishes,” said one of the participants. Incidentally, Iftar parties cut across party lines. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and RJD chief will be hosting their Iftar parties. Despite bitter charges and counter-charges made against each other, the politicians make a show of solidarity by being present in each other's Iftar party. “After all, Iftar parties hosted by politicians are all about a substantial vote bank,” said a senior politician.