Blair surprise for Bihar leaders

Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui saw former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair roaming around the Olympic village like a commoner during his stay in London, unbelievable in Bihar. or people in the state, spotting leaders without a heavy cordon of bodyguards is like a culture shock. “We are familiar with heavy deployment of government security guards for MLAs, MPs and even former MLAs, mukhiyas as well as politically dead leaders. It is a status symbol,” said a JD(U) MP. During the Nitish regime, the number of security guards of most politicians has actually been increased. It is not surprising that chief minister Nitish Kumar refused to comment on Britain’s decision to withdraw government cars from ministers.

Seat pill to tame spirit

The RJD MLA from Bhojpur district, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, congratulated a mystified power minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav on Tuesday when the Assembly proceedings were about to begin. When the minister asked why he was being congratulated, the MLA said: “You were instrumental in getting a bhataktee atma (wandering spirit) of Bhojpur district made the deputy Speaker of the House.” the MLA said. A peal of laughter across the House followed when the MLAs realised that Raghvendra was referring to the BJP MLA, Amarendra Pratap Singh, as the wandering spirit of Ara. Singh had been demanding his inclusion in the ministry for the past seven years. Unfortunately, his claims were ignored and other BJP MLAs of his caste were included in the ministry. The BJP MLA from Ara turned into a dissident because of his refusal of his repeated appeals. “But if that is the definition of bhataktee atma, why only Amarendra babu? There are so many in the BJP who would fit the bill. Once they are given some post, the roaming ghosts live peacefully,” said a senior BJP leader.

Too noisy

The RJD MLA from Maner, Bhai Birendar, is turning out to be too vocal not only for the ruling alliance but also for his party. Recently, he was speaking to another MLA while the House proceedings were on and energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav was replying to a question. The irked minister pulled up the MLA and declared that he was answering a question asked by another RJD MLA. Another MLA of the RJD complained that Bhai Birendar does not have constraint when he starts to speak. “When the RJD MLAs were protesting in the well of the House against the gangrape, Bhai Birendar announced that the party would boycott the rest of the session. But we had no such intention and returned to the House the next day ignoring what Bhai Birendar had said,” said an RJD MLA.

Dal jibe at Lalu

The RJD leaders claimed that people turned up at Lalu Prasad’s Parivartan Yatra in a large number, but the JD(U) are taking the RJD chief’s political activities with a pinch of salt. “Laluji had once promised to distribute motorcycles among teenagers in Bihar during the Assembly elections. During his recent tour to Gopalganj, he moved on a motorcycle himself. Not only that, he has opened a motorcycle showroom for his son,” said a senior JD(U) leader.