Regional journal: Emotional farewell for Warring

Former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal once forgot his son Sukhbir’s name during a visit to The Lawrence School, Sanawar. Recalling the incident at an interaction with youngsters in Patiala, Sukhbir said Badal referred to Sukhbir by his nickname, ‘Lali’. The principal said there was no student by that name. Badal then identified Sukhbir as a student from Punjab, following which the principal arranged the meeting.

How does one explain the irrational deployment of staff in the government sector? Perhaps that is why a senior Himachal bureaucrat reached back to the Ramayana for an analogy. Recalling the televised epic, he said when arrows fired by Rama and Ravana collided, the weaker one disappeared. Similarly, in appointments, an arrow of administrative logic often meets an arrow of political influence, and the stronger one determines the posting. Most of the time, he said, administrative logic prevails.

Legendary dialogues of the blockbuster film “Sholay” have made a sudden entry to the social media feeds, thanks to the Samajwadi Party’s digital teams. The videos curated using AI have raised the hackles of the BJP as they show SP chief Akhilesh Yadav as the hero and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the villain. Opposition MPs are busy amplifying the videos on Meta platforms these days.

The Opposition INDIA bloc meeting in the capital this week stood out for a video in which Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi was seen affectionately patting the back of embattled Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee. The gesture came after Mamata’s challenge to the BJP: “Hum ladenge, hum jeetange, loktantra wapis aayega (we will fight and win and democracy will be restored).”

The family of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria is once again organising mass marriages for destitute girls, leaving the police with more questions than answers. Senior officers say they are yet to ascertain the source of funds for the events and gift items. Rumours are rife that extortion money may be involved, though the police have chosen to remain tight-lipped.

With funds for Centre- and block-level school games yet to be released, government primary schools are allegedly being asked to contribute Rs 10,000 per block for district-level competitions. Democratic Teachers’ Front leader Davinder Singh Sidhu said schools faced mounting financial pressure as even last year’s sanctioned funds remain unpaid. He said organising a block-level event cost about Rs 1 lakh, while the approved budget was only Rs 5,000. Schools had contributed Rs 6,000 per block for the games last year, he added.

A week before the Nasha Mukt Yatra finale, the BJP projected Amit Shah’s September 30 Jalandhar rally as a mega show, planning a 60-acre venue and 2,000 buses from across Punjab. But local leaders said far fewer buses reached the ground, resulting in a thinner turnout than anticipated.

Contributed by Shekhar Singh, Archit Watts, Ruchika M Khanna, Subhash Rajta, Aditi Tandon, Ravi Dhaliwal, Sukhpreet Singh and Deepkamal Kaur