There was once a municipal staffer who had the courage to demand bribe from none other the former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Koka Subba Rao. Supreme Court Judge J. Chalameswar narrated this interesting episode at a meeting here on Sunday. It was about four decades ago that the man, working with the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, sought illegal gratification in a property tax assessment matter from then CJI, of course not knowing him. Asked how daring he was to demand bribe from the CJI, the employee retorted as to why he should be worried, having taken money from the Police Commissioner of the day, Abdus Salam Khan.
Donning a new hat
TDP MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao sprang a surprise by donning the role of a commentator during the film actors T20 cricket match played at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium here on Sunday. From accompanying two teams going for the toss to presenting the cup , he left no stone unturned in making the commentary interesting with his humour. When scores of spectators stood near the boundary line and the dais to have a glimpse of their favourite actors, he repeatedly asked security personnel to disperse them. He even advised police constables to focus on controlling crowd instead of taking selfies with the actors.
On a wrong foot
TDP State General Secretary Varla Ramaiah, one of the vocal spokespersons of the party, had left the audience and dignitaries on the dais in shock on December 9 at Kuchipudi. Being chief guest of the 124th birth anniversary celebrations of historian Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma, Mr. Ramaiah presented his lecture on the lines of ‘death anniversary’. Ironically, he also expressed his deep condolences to the eminent researcher in the field of history. However, he confessed his mistake when others reminded him of his folly.
Act of (mis)management
Not much of homework apparently went into the maiden meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) in the city by the local leaders. A group of youth moved around the dais and backstage to see that the arrangements were in place . But none of the local leaders were of any help to journalists who had difficulty in identifying the UP leaders. Some drew blank while others made wild guesses, giving either wrong names or designations. The meeting was barely over and before the guests could leave, a few women groups ‘brought’ from rural pockets demanded the money promised to them much to the organisers’ discomfort.
The cool pool
Many of Tullur farmers are not totally clear about what ‘land pooling’ is all about? With everyone turning into a real estate agent overnight, an agricultural worker demonstrated his knowledge. Asked to give details of the land up for sale, he said: “There is all the land you want in cooling (repeat cooling)”. Perhaps, they suggested that the land was well preserved. Even those who are literate do not seem to be clear about what pooling is. One gentleman kept saying “pulling” instead of pooling.
