Anna dharna inspires state Cong leaders
B>The day several rallies were organised in support of Anna Hazare’s demand for Lokpal Bill in Patna, the state Congress workers demonstrated against power cuts. Worried over the possibility of a mix-up, Congress leader said: “Our dharna is not in favour of Hazare.” The hunger strike of Hazare, however, was too big an issue to ignore and so the Congress leaders pleaded that their show was against the state government but “inspired” by the Gandhian leader. The fiasco during the JP Movement in the 1970s still haunts the party. During that period several Congress leaders made uncharitable remarks against JP. They called him an American agent, tout, fascist and several other things. The statements boomeranged,” said a senior Congress leader. But the Congress is not the only party in a fix over the issues. The RJD has also remained silent on the Lokpal Bill issue. “We will do nothing that will displease the Congress,” said a leader of the RJD./B>B>The syndicate member of Patna University, Sudhakar Prasad Singh, asked the teachers, who participated in a dharna in support of Anna Hazare on Friday, if they had taken causal leave to participate in it. He said not taking classes amounted to a form of corruption - the issue Hazare was fighting against. Of course, there were few takers for his question and some of the teachers told him that it was none of his business. “The government employees stage dharnas and rallies without taking leaves. It is a paid holiday,” said a teacher, stressing that they did what the other government employees had been doing for ages. B>Chief minister Nitish Kumar is a firm believer in rules and system. In a meeting chaired by Nitish to discuss the IT policy to be announced by the government, an official suggested introducing special incentives in the IT sector to attract big players to Bihar. “The chief minister struck down the suggestion saying a rule should be framed first with clear directions so that there is no scope for questions to be raised n the issue at a later stage,” an official said, stressing Nitish had een like that since e was Union minister or railways, a strong believer in setting up ystems./B>B>Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s remark on sports and politicians triggered off a volley of charges and counter-charges. First, Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) president Abdul Bari Siddiqui attacked Nitish verbally. Then, the patron of Association of Bihar Cricket (ABC) and former cricketer Kirti Azad blamed Lalu Prasad for the sorry state of affairs of the game in the state. The president of Cricket Association of Bihar and BJP MLA Prem Ranjan Patel followed it up by heaping more charges on the RJD chief. Aspiring cricketers of Bihar are unimpressed, though. “It is not helping cricket in Bihar. We still have to go to Jharkhand to play. Perhaps there should be more cricket associations in Bihar so that they can play Twenty20 among themselves,” said an aspiring cricketer./B>
Friday, 23 May 2025