OFF THE RECORD review on some of the headlines…

DGP should clear the air…

A gossip is floating in the market that DGP Rashmi Shukla has put down her papers. Health is the reason, I am told. Then someone in the IPS circles told me that these are only rumours and it is not true. Whatever it is, DGP should keep these gossip mongers away and clear the air. I say this because again another IAS officer who does not like DGP, will get a chance to rejoice if this gossip is true that Shukla has opted for VRS. It is said the said gossip has started from her cabin. When the election commission had sent DGP on leave, this IAS officer was very cheerful the whole day. What yaar, talk about women empowerment in bureaucracy…everything here right from relationships to friendships-is pretentious. 

Saif Ali Khan case…

If the DCP was tired addressing everyone that whatever they have said about the Saif Ali Khan attacker is 100% true and factual, now the Additional CP West region Paramjit Singh Dahiya had to come and voice the same thing and concur with the DCP and Mumbai Police findings. The reason that Additional CP had to step in the case and clarify the stand of Mumbai Police, is, because of Mumbai Police only. Now someone from the police tipped off the media people that the finger prints that they got from the flat of Saif Ali Khan did not match the Bangladeshi attacker. Now our media is so irresponsible that they did not even bother to ask for a finger-print report before bringing it out in the newspapers and channels. For your information, when this news item came, I am told the finger print report was yet AWAITED and is still awaited…yes, without any facts. Can you believe these readers? Then the likes of Arnab Goswami get a chance to attack the Mumbai Police and when he gets it in his zone, he just slams it. Now who spread this rumour, CP Phansalkar should find this out, when he gets free from his commitments.

One piece of advice to MoS Home- Yogesh Kadam…

It was a very sorry picture of Mumbai Police to see the photograph of a young 38 year old MoS Yogesh Ramdas Kadam sitting in the boss’s chair and in front of him sat the senior most IPS officers of our city, right from the CP to Additional CP’s. I know Yogesh Kadam is MoS Home, but looking at his age, he should avoid taking ‘reporting’ from senior most IPS officers especially like the DGP, CP and Special CP rank officers and even if takes it, it should be in closed rooms without a camera. This is my point of view. Just a few months ago, Yogesh was like any other MLA. I think CM Devendra Fadnavis should also talk to Yogesh Kadam and inform him as many of these IPS officers are too senior to give briefing to him and it does not even look nice to see a Phansalkar or a Deven Bharti to sit in front of Kadam and brief him. When I called a very senior IPS officer and asked how he felt about this meeting as he was a part of it, he said, Vikrant, even we all felt awkward but at the end of the day it is democracy and he is our BOSS now, we cannot do anything about it. My advice to Yogesh Kadam will be that he SHOULD get briefings from the senior most as he is the Minister, but he should without ‘camera’ and photo ops. Like this, a lot will be saved. Now you will ask me, what if it was any other 38 year old leader, say, Sharad Pawar was in fact CM at that age and everyone reported to him, I will smile back at you and say, he was Sharad Pawar and not Ramdas Kadam’s son, Yogesh Kadam. 

Is the ACS Home changing? 

In between there were strong rumours that current ACS Home Iqbal Singh Chahal will be moved to DCM Eknath Shinde and the veteran Deepak Kapoor who is ACS irrigation now, will be the new ACS Home. Why does this happen only when Chahal is out of town? In between when Chahal had gone to lecture at a batch of 200 new IAS officers at Mussoorie, someone who does not want Chahal to become the New CS, started this rumour of Deepak Kapoor becoming the new ACS Home. But I have confirmed, none of this is true and it will be Chahal who will be the ACS for the time being. 

Ranjit Singh Deol

Someone was telling me that two things are impossible in Maharashtra. One is Uddhav Thackeray coming with BJP now and second is to shift Principal Secretary Ranjit Singh Deol from the School Education department. Aisa kya Ujjwal Bhavishya hai iss Department main, Deol Sahab? By the way, on 12th and 13th February in Nagpur there is a wedding and everything is Mauja Hi Mauja…Just read a few days ago, Maharashtra government withdrew funding for eggs and sugar for mid-day meal scheme. No investigating agency or RTI users even thought to dig into this matter as to why it led to the stoppage of funding…Can be an interesting investigation… 

Vikrant Hemant Joshi.