The grapevine in the state secretariat is to be believed, the importance of saala (wife’s brother) is growing. Since all government employees down to the rank of Grade III have to declare their movable and immovable assets by February 28, a section of officials point out that several employees have started “off loading” their assets. The most popular way to off load one’s assets is to transfer land and cash in the name of brothers-in-law because the proforma of declaration does not contain a column on the assets of wife’s brothers,” said an official, insisting that several employees have actually taken leave for the quick transfer of assets. The brothers-in-law have played a prominent role in Bihar politics and who else would know it better than RJD chief Lalu Prasad whose saalas Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav were called the “power sub-stations” during his regime. “But there is always a danger of the saala betraying the jija, like Sadhu and Subhash,” remarked the official. External affairs minister S.M. Krishna is not the only one to make a speech goof-up, chief minister Nitish Kumar, too, does it once in a while. Recently, at a function, he congratulated former Bihar-cadre IAS officer and new Sebi chief U.K. Sinha for his appointment in “Bombay”. “Sorry it should be Mumbai,” the chief minister immediately corrected himself. Incidentally, the chief minister did take credit for Sinha’s elevation to the post. “Had I not accepted his resignation from the IAS, he would probably not have got the post,” the chief minister remarked. State JD (U) president Basistha Narayan Singh has pledged that his party workers would plant one lakh saplings in the state every year to give the state a greener look. The idea is both unique and noble. Ever since the 1970s, when during the Emergency, late Sanjay Gandhi asked his partymen to plant saplings, no party has ever given a thought to issues like environment and wildlife. Most political parties have not shied away from using plastic flags in functions despite knowing that the material is hazardous for the environment. “The idea of Basistha Narayan Singh is noble. But one can only hope that it does not go the way other programmes have gone like the membership drives in which parties claim they would make one crore new members and remain silent afterwards,” said a seasoned politician. Chief minister Nitish Kumar at a function recently reasserted his commitment to fight corruption and convert the houses purchased with “ill-gotten money” of government employees into schools. “These houses have expensive tiles. Just think how happy the children from poor families would be when they would get to jump and play on those expensive tiles,” he said. The remark appears to have surprised a section of the audience who said Nitish normally is not known to make such statements. “Such remarks have always been attributed to Lalu Prasad. During the early 1990s, he used to say that when backward caste leaders go to their village as ministers in red-beacon cars, it causes envy among the upper castes and feudal forces,” said a member of the audience. However, there is no sympathy for the corrupt officials, he clarified. He said that it was just that Nitish sounded “Lalu-like”.
Friday, 16 May 2025
