Cool lost after bypoll loss

After the defeat in the Purnea bypoll, the frustration in the Opposition camp is evident. he Congress, which issues statements for the victory of the party in Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir and other places, did not even bother to issue a statement on its defeat in Purnea. The RJD, which had extended support to the CPM candidate, is tight-lipped on how the CPM’s votes slipped despite its support. The frustration was most evident in LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan. When he was asked if he planned to hit the road against the fuel price rise and corruption, he said: “Why should we when people do not give us votes?”

Different road rules

After Nutan Paswan was elected the chairman of Patna Zila Parishad unanimously, the celebrations of her supporters brought traffic to a grinding halt on the road leading to the district magistrate’s office and the district court. The police looked on as motorists fretted and fumed. “Of course the policemen will not do anything. She is the sister of the senior superintendent of police of Patna. The cops in the state capital only respect connections. They have one set of rules for kin of VIPs and another for the common man,” a motorist said.

Slip of tongue

The SC/ST welfare minister, Jeetan Ram Majhi, goofed up big time while inaugurating a police programme. By mistake, he took the name of Aashish Ranjan Saheb while addressing the director-general of police (DGP). Realising that the present incumbent is Neel Mani, he made amends. Ranjan was removed from the post over four years ago. He was seen campaigning with the RJD chief, Lalu Prasad, in the last Assembly polls. “But it is hardly surprising that Majhi remembers Ranjan as a powerful police officer. He was a minister in the Rabri ministry also,” an IPS officer said. “During the Rabri era, then Opposition leader Sushil Kumar Modi challenged her to name all her ministers. I am sure several colleagues of Modi are unaware of the names of the persons holding key posts in the bureaucracy,” he said.

 

Chanakya, the icon

Chanakya is among the favourite icons of Nitish Kumar. He named a national law university after the powerful minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Last year, he participated in a programme organised by Brahmins in the name of Chanakya to show their strength. Naturally, when the chairman of the state Legislative Council, Tarakant Jha, gave Nitish a portrait of Chanakya at a function on Wednesday, the politicians said his gesture was symbolic. “Despite the image of anti-upper caste, Nitish has managed to get most of the support of the upper castes, including Brahmins. He has followed the principles of Chanakya and kept the Opposition demoralised and his aides on their toes,” a JD(U) leader said, insisting that Nitish was both Chandragupta and Chanakya rolled into one. Incidentally, Nitish’s archrival Lalu Prasad had made it clear in his heydays in Bihar that he would prefer to be a Chandragupta.