Lalu kin dream cut to size

After the RJD’s worst ever drubbing in the Assembly elections in 2010, Lalu Prasad’s relatives have started downsizing their ambition in the local bodies’ polls beginning from April 20. The RJD boss’s brother, Gulab Yadav, was the pramukh (head) of Phulwaria block between 2001 and 2005. Stooping to conquer, he has filed his nomination papers for the position of the panchayat committee member of Phulwaria panchayat. ubhas Yadav’s brother-in-law, Munna Yadav, was also ward councillor of Selarkala between 2001 and 2005. He was willing to contest the local bodies’ poll this time. But he has landed in jail in connection with an extortion case. Munna is out of poll fray, but around 12 close or distant relatives of Lalu and Rabri Devi are said to be trying their luck in the polls. Lalu and Rabri hail from Phulwaria and Selarkala villages in north Bihar’s Gopalganj district.

Whiff of rift

The JD (U)’s national president Sharad Yadav announced the suspension of the four party MPs - Lallan Singh, Manganilal Mandal, Upendra Kushwaha and Sushil Singh. Sharad openly told reporters that the MPs in question were guilty of “anti-party activities” and deserved suspension. Chief minister Nitish Kumar refused to utter a word on these MPs. “I am not empowered to speak on the issue. The national president of the party, Sharad Yadav, and his state counterpart Basishthanarayan Singh were empowered to take action against the party leaders,” Nitish said. But most of the suspended MPs blamed Nitish more for their plight. They are virtually sympathetic about Sharad. “He (Sharad) has all the sympathy with us. He took action against us at the behest of Nitish, who is after us,” said a JD (U) MP. “Nitish wanted harsher action on the MPs but Sharad, somehow, overruled it,” he added. Does it suggest a rift between Sharad and Nitish on the issues of action against the rebel MPs? The JD (U)’s opponents, at least, believe the chasm is growing between Sharad and Nitish, who is virtually the de facto chief of the JD (U).

Power to back

When chief minister Nitish Kumar took a dig at the politicians involved in cricket politics, apparently his primary target was Lalu Prasad and not Arun Jaitley or Sharad Pawar. The chief minister, sources said, simply does not want the RJD boss to hold any position in any cricket body. Lalu is currently the chairman of the Bihar Cricket Association, an associate member of the BCCI. The sources said the chief minister believes Lalu is interested in cricket to promote his cricketer son, Tejaswi. The suspicion is not wide off the mark. Nitish’s supporters argued that Lalu made his wife, Rabri Devi, the Bihar chief minister in 1997 despite several experienced leaders around. “By the same logic he will have no qualms in promoting his son in cricket once he gets the opportunity,” said JD (U) leader close o Nitish./B>

IT haters mum

The Nitish Kumar-led government is all set to put in place new policies to promote industry and information technology (IT) by next month. The chief minister’s penchant to promote IT in the state became evident by the fact that he was reviewing the progress in the sector with the officials when India and Sri Lanka were locked in a fierce battle to win the World Cup on Saturday. RJD chief Lalu Prasad was a strong critic of the IT during his regime. Abiding by their leader’s wish, the RJD cadres had no interest in IT. However, the RJD leaders find themselves in a quandary to speak on the Nitish’s initiative with the IT. Lalu, who had once famously said, “IT-YT kya hota hai (what is the fuss on the IT)”, has turned silent on the issue. The leader of Opposition, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who does not miss any opportunity to take on Nitish, too desists from speaking against Nitish’s pursuit with the IT fearing being dubbed as “primordial and backward in thinking”.