Proximity to power counts

Dissident JD (U) MP Lallan Singh had the reputation of being the alternative power centre of the NDA government in Bihar before he revolted against chief minister Nitish Kumar. But his status has taken a beating now. n official who went to see Union minister Jairam Ramesh off at Patna airport found himself next to the dissident JD (U) MP. He exchanged pleasantries with Lallan and asked the Union minister if he could recognise the MP. The Union minister appeared a bit confused. “He is the one who deserted our sahib (Nitish) before the elections,” said the official, leaving the minister and the MP embarrassed. Lallan was, however, seen with Nitish when the latter’s mother passed away. “But that is no indication that he (Lallan) ill get his earlier status back,” said another official. Proximity to power appears to be the only thing hat counts.

Truce talks

Urban development minister Prem Kumar was recently seen brokering peace between the two persons who matter most in civic amenities — the mayor, Afzal Imam, and the city commissioner, Manish Kumar. The mayor had given a written complaint to the chief secretary alleging that the commissioner was not cooperating with him. “The meeting lasted three hours at the office of the minister. It did not yield an absolute truce. But the two agreed on some points, especially on taking action against erring employees of the Patna Municipal Corporation,” said an aide of the minister. However, on Saturday, the hostility between the two was back to square one with the office of Patna Municipal Corporation locked, as the commissioner decided to shift the establishment to the PRDA office. “Perhaps, we should have a few more rounds of meetings so that the garbage in the city can be carted,” said an official of the urban development department.

Night duty

A section of the government employees, especially the traffic constables, are definitely happy over the cold wave weakening. “Previously, we used to leave our posts by 8.30pm. Now, we have been asked to stay back till 9.30pm,” said a constable posted on SP Verma Road. The increased movement of ehicles at night and the spurt in the number of cars have made their task all the more difficult. The traffic constable was wondering why car owners were eager to drive at night. “It was better during the Lalu-Rabri Raj when people used to be off the road after evening,” he said.

Kushwaha caste factor

With the war between dissident JD (U) leader Upendra Prasad Kushwaha and chief minister Nitish Kumar out n the open, the aides of ushwaha want him to ake over the leadership f Kushwaha caste, the econd largest segment among ackward castes in Bihar. Two other claimants for the leadership — Shakuni houdhary and Nagmani — met their Waterloo in the last ssembly polls. Shakuni lost and so did Nagmani and is wife. The leadership is acant,” said one of his ollowers. However, the JD (U) leaders are convinced that pendra will go the Shakuni and Nagmani way. “If he has so much reservation about the party leadership he should first quit his Rajya Sabha seat,” said a JD (U) MP.