Record of sorts: Andhra Pradesh guv has administered oath to 5 CMs in 9 yrs

A record of sorts

Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narasimhan, governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, holds a unique record. He is the only governor to have administered oath to five chief ministers in nine years — a strike rate of one every other year. After he took over as governor of Andhra Pradesh, he administrated his first oath of office to Kiran Kumar Reddy of the Congress and then to Chandrababu Naidu. Then in 2015 when Andhra Pradesh was divided and Telangana carved out, he administrated oath to its first chief minister, K Chandrasekar Rao (KCR). He re-administered oath to KCR last year too. The most recent one was for Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose party won a majority of the seats in the Andhra Pradesh assembly and became chief minister last month.

Mamata's riposte

Days after she was greeted by belligerent cries of “Jai Shri Ram” in Bhatpara and Naihati — which fall in the Barrackpore stronghold of newly elected BJP parliamentarian Arjun Singh, who had crossed over from the Trinamul Congress before the general election — West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (pictured) has come up with a riposte. She has requested women and young people in the state to set up Banga Janani Vahinis and Jai Hind Vahinis to counter "outside" influence in the state. She appealed to the people of the state that henceforth they must say "Jai Hind" when they greet people and appealed to her party colleagues to say "Jai Bangla" when answering official calls.

Roadblock by police?

Police personnel in Vellore, 126 km from Chennai, last week blocked a stretch of a road, ostensibly for public good. They were protesting the fact that more often than not two-wheeler riders did not wear helmets and many a time they rode vehicles that did not have insurance. A senior police official picked up the microphone installed in his vehicle and advised people on the merits of insurance and dangers of helmet-less rides. He said in the very first month of taking charge he had to dispose of nearly 15 bodies, all victims of accidents involving two-wheelers. At the end of his speech, he had a warning — henceforth, every violator will pay a ~250 fine and “spend” half a day at his police station.