Threat call to former threat

Threat calls to legislators and MPs on their cellphones appear to have become a trend in Bihar. But when the BJP MLA from Raghunathpur, Vikram Kuer, received a threat call, there was amusement in the political circle. When Kuer was an MLA of the RJD, he was associated with criminal-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin. As an associate of Shahabuddin, Kuer was booked for criminal offences and even externed from Saran district during elections. Now that he is with the BJP, he must have mellowed down. That is why he is getting threats from criminals,” a senior BJP leader said. The friends of Kuer pointed out that the cases slammed against him had more to do with his association with Shahbuddin than any criminal act.

Flip-flop

LJP MLA Naushad Alam has landed in a soup because of his volatility. After giving a petition to Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary that he and another LJP MLA Promod Kumar Singh wanted to merge with the JD(U), he has backtracked. He is now swearing his oyalty to his old party, he LJP. Alam said he signed on the dotted lines because Singh insisted. “He (Alam) is not the only one who makes a mistake. Probably he must have realised that he will not be gaining anything from the switchover. During elections, several politicians switch parties but gain nothing - not even a ticket from the party they switched to. Alam made a mistake by trying to switch at a time when there is no elections,” a senior JD(U) leader said.

Pressure relief

The RJD chief, Lalu Prasad, has asked his party workers to mount pressure on the local administration for relief to flood victims. The NDA leaders are delighted by Lalu's statement. “Laluji has been flood-stricken so many times that he appears to have developed a phobia for floods and relief,” a JD(U) leader said. The NDA leaders pointed out that wherever flood has taken place the RJD and other opposition parties have been wiped out in elections. “When a breach in Kosi embankment devastated Supaul, Madhepura and Saharsa districts in 2008, Lalu and Ram Vilas Paswan tried to pin down Nitish government on floods and relief work there,” he said. But the relief work carried out by the state government then was so intense that both the LJP and the RJD were humiliated in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls with Nitish Kumar being nicknamed Quintaliya Baba - the man who provides 40kg of foodgrain during floods.

Green movement scare

If anyone has vacant land to spare, they can expect the JD(U) workers to plant saplings on them. The state JD(U) president, Basisth Narayan Singh, has asked the party workers to go all-out in tree plantation in the Green Bihar movement. He asked them to plant trees on private land also. “The announcement is welcome if it does not mean grabbing of land on the pretext of tree plantation,” a senior citizen having a large plot at his residence in the city said. The citizens appear to have little trust in politicians and the party workers no matter how good their intentions are.