Off the Record: April 26, 2020

Dress-code

With video-conferencing emerging as a favourite during the lockdown, the focus has now shifted on dressing for such virtual meetings. While memes and videos about Zoom suits did the rounds on social media, a lawyer in Rajasthan appeared oblivious to the ‘new normal’. The Rajasthan High Court last week adjourned a hearing on a bail application on the ground that the lawyer was inappropriately dressed. The lawyer seeking bail for his client appeared for the hearing, through video conferencing, wearing a vest which was strongly disapproved of by the judge. The matter has now been posted for hearing on May 5, two days after the lockdown is expected to be lifted.

Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi
 

Essential commodity?

The Shiv Sena and rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena seems to be at war over the issue of opening or not opening wine and liquor shops. MNS president Raj Thackeray wrote an open letter to his cousin, the Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting that liquor shops should be opened. “Prior to lockdown, the wine shops were open. The state government should get caught in some moral issues at such a crucial time and take the necessary action,” Raj wrote. However, in an editorial in Saamana, the Shiv Sena reacted sharply. “Through his demand, he has pointed it out to the government that like food, alcohol is an essential commodity. He has given invaluable information that people are also dependent on ‘quarter’ and ‘peg’,” the Sena said.

Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai
 

Special protocol

Amid COVID-19 lockdown, last week a top Kashmiri businessman became a topic of discussion on social media after running away from a Red Zone area in Jammu to travel back home. While the administration claimed that he was quarantined, after his return, common people questioned how he managed to travel 300-kms without getting noticed. While thousands of common Kashmiris stranded across the country are begging for a return with some even offering to remain in mandatory 14-day quarantine, the businessman again managed to leave the administrative quarantine just after a few days. He had been put in a posh hotel while commoners remained in filthy quarantines. The businessman, who is known for hosting ‘who-is-who’ of Kashmir at his posh hotels, managed to breach the protocols with the help of these very people.

Zulfikar Majid, Srinagar
 

Thank you note

That’s an awesome ‘thank you note’ during this COVID-19 season. Young Anupama decided to name her new-born after a constable who helped transport her to a hospital for her delivery. A few days ago, her family was frantically searching for an ambulance to take her to a hospital. The wait continued but an ambulance was nowhere in sight. It was then the family dialled the Delhi Police. Within ten minutes of the call, a police van was at their doorstep and constable Dayaveer was ready to help them. Anupama was rushed to Hindu Rao Hospital where she gave birth to a boy. Her thank you note came in an unexpected way, she named her son Dayaveer, wanting him to be like the constable, whose name roughly translates as a man of compassion. 

Shemin Joy, New Delhi
 

Red dilemma

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was reportedly hesitant in acknowledging the success of the Kerala model when his officers apprised him of its efficacy in combating COVID-19. But the unabated rise in cases prompted him to ask the officers dealing with the menace to speak to their counterparts in the capital of Kerala. The left ideology is anathema to the saffron party. For a BJP ruled government to admit the strategic superiority of a left-ruled state is quite an embarrassment. Moreover, neither the BJP nor the CPM cadres have forgotten how the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had to call off his scheduled function in a Bhopal college due to protest from the cadres of ABVP. Shivraj Singh had defended ABVP, instead of apologising to Vijayan.

Rakesh Dixit, Bhopal