No coveted post
Who will be the next Principal Secretary, Finance, after V V Bhatt’s exit is the most asked question in Delhi Secretariat these days. Health Secretary J P Singh, who is next in line for the post, seems to be very reluctant. The other option for the post is Principal Secretary to the CM, P K Tripathi. Tripathi, a close aide of Sheila Dikshit, however, is unlikely to want to work with Finance Minister A K Walia. The other reason is that the successor will, in all probability, be inheriting an empty vault. So, it’s not just that the tug-of-war between Dikshit and Finance Minister A K Walia is keeping people away.

Better behind bars
Tihar Jail, which is facing overcrowding, is a chosen destination for women who cannot afford good care and hospital expenses during pregnancy. Even prison officials say that many pregnant women commit petty crimes to come to the jail because they know the government will take care and provide them medical and other facilities. “There’s nothing, however, that we can do. We are here for public service,” a jail superintendent said. “These women are poor and cannot afford even food. Here they get milk, a special diet and are taken to hospital for routine check ups.”

Censored news
Inside Tihar Jail, inmates were given newspapers after officials had cut out news reports of an undertrial getting pregnant inside the jail in May this year. The cable connection was also cut off when news of the pregnancy flashed, a few inmates said. The 35-year-old Tihar inmate, an undertrial since 2008, was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for medical termination of pregnancy. She was two-and-a-half months pregnant. “So much for our rights,” an inmate said. “We only get to read positive stories about Tihar and when it is bad news, it is censored.”

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