Dal workers envy Congress leaders
B>The Congress may be down the dumps in Bihar but its leaders are still an envied lot. Quite a few Congress leaders of Bihar have been sent to Tamil Nadu, Assam and Bengal as district observers. Most of these district observers selected from Bihar lost in elections for the past two decades,” said a JD (U) leader, pointing out that selection as party observers means power and money. In sharp contrast, the JD (U) leaders who are not ministers or legislators are virtually unemployed now. “There is an advantage in sticking to the national political parties. The frills of politics come even when the political fortunes of the party concerned dips in the state. For the leaders of the regional parties, they come after an interval of five years,” said a JD (U) leader. Against this backdrop, the JD (U) workers can also envy their BJP counterparts. For, several BJP leaders of the state were sent to Assam./B>B>The political circles of Patna are not impressed with the quality of spokespersons of various parties. “Earlier, spokespersons like Shivanand Tiwari or Shakeel Ahmad Khan could raise issues on their own without getting into the play of charges and counter-charges. Today, most of the speakers wait for their political opponents to speak and then react.” So, if the RJD issues a statement on law and order, the JD (U) spokesperson reminds it of its 15-year regime. If chief minister Nitish Kumar says something about corruption, the Congress spokesperson reacts. It is becoming dull and predictable,” said an elderly politician, stressing that the entire set of spokespersons should be changed. B>The Raj Bhavan and the state government may differ on the selection of vice-chancellors and on the role of the governor in the functioning of universities but the link between them is quite obvious for everyone in the government. “The Raj Bhavan is the husband and the state government is the wife,” said an official, referring to the fact that IAS Afzal Amanullah is the principal secretary to the governor while his wife, Praveen Amanullah, is a minister. But somebody rightly pointed out that the official had got his comparisons wrong. “Raj Bhavan and the state government are not working like a husband and wife team right now,” e said./B>B>Jhanjharpur MP Mangani Lal Mandal (in picture) may be down and out after the JD (U) suspended him for his alleged anti-party activities but that does not stop him from throwing his weight around. His bodyguard reportedly detained Rajdhani Express in Patna for about 10 minutes so that he could board the train. But Mandal still missed the train as its driver refused to delay the train further. The MP was caught in a traffic jam because of Ram Navami procession. Mandal denied the whole episode, saying when he missed the train the question of delaying it does not arise. The MPs of Bihar have had a track record of altering the schedule of trains and planes. There were reports of Lalu Prasad’s brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav forcing the railway authorities to change the platform of a train so that he did not have to walk. Around a decade ago, a group of MPs forced a Calcutta-bound plane to fly to Patna./B>
Friday, 19 December 2025
