Back on the home turf

‘Hello’ to all the regular readers of SateOfDelhi blogs. Well, the blog in this avatar went missing for a while. And that’s because this blogger had been busy doing a weekly column (‘Delhi Musings’) for the National Herald – click here. Don’t you worry as the raiding party didn’t bother about the content providers to the paper at all. In any case this column was all satirical stuff – something that sleuths don’t get any which ways.  So here I am – back on home turf – www.StateOfDelhi.in

Dilliwalahs have never had it so good. There is so much happening in the corridors of power in Delhi ever since we got a new Lieutenant Governor. Just one weekend huddle over a few Patiala pegs at the club does not suffice to absorb the entire scene. The new LG seems to be giving our man AK hell. So pre-occupied is the LG with questioning the motives and moves of the AAP government at Delhi that he did not even let AK off even for a couple of days. Arvind Kejriwal was to present Delhi’s case at the World Cities Summit at Singapore. Poor AK, all he could do was to puff and pant (no, not that cough – that’s gone thankfully!). So much for running from pillar to post to get the LG to let him go to Singapore.

Frustrated, the Delhi CM pulled in the PM into this controversy – what else could the poor guy do. He alleged that if the jurisdiction of the Delhi CM was a reason for refusal of permission then the same needs to apply to even the PM. He claimed that by extension of this logic the PM would not be able to travel abroad as often as he does. He lamented that on most of his trips the PM engages on subjects that fall in State List and are out of the PM’s jurisdiction. Imagine honourable Rashtrapati Ms. Murmu stopping Mr Modi from going on a foreign trip on his Rs 4500 crore plane. Simply unthinkable!

The dust on this Singapore trip had not settled when the sleuths of one vigilance department got on Delhi government’s case again. They brought out anomalies in decisions taken by excise officials in the matter pertaining to the excise policy for liquor sales in the capital. The LG got in to his act and suspended some officials. Questions are now being asked of AK’s deputy, Manish Sisodia. The Dy CM in turn has raised a few awkward questions for the previous LG to answer. Things are getting murkier by the day and the liquor availability is likely to get affected – an issue that most certainly bothers Dilliwalahs more. Someone get that Old Monk back on shelves, please!

A word on the sleuths who are working overtime to implicate people from most political parties save one. Well, sometimes they do a commendable job too and deserve credit. Look at how one Abbas was traced in the far off Australia (or was it a section of the propaganda-chewing media that discovered him?). It is another matter that sleuths haven’t yet found ‘Vikas’ (remember Vikas of Sabka Vikas fame?). May be, as in the case of Abbas, they need to look for Vikas in developed countries and not within the country!

This week India celebrates 75 years of independence and the government has worked very hard on planning the celebrations of this momentous occasion. Thankfully the celebrations also make folks who thought that we came to life only in 2014 realise that we have been there as a prosperous nation for long! Long live the Republic!

StateOfDelhi Suggests: Another way to discover that we are an old civilisation and have prospered for a few millennia before 2014 is by visiting the National Museum. And a great way to explore the Museum is by going on this walk with Dushyant Singh as he makes it very interesting and engaging. He is doing this walk on Sunday, the 21^st August, ’22. The walk starts at 10.30 am. and wraps up in about two hours. You can register by calling Dushyant on 93100 02320.

Oh! So glad to be back on the home turf.