Nitish follows Rabri on secretariat visit

The old secretariat is considered to be the actual seat of power. Every new chief minister makes it a point to attend the office here after assuming charge. “It gives a message to the official that the chief minister means business and is around,” said an official. Former chief minister Rabri Devi was punctual in attending the office when she first came to power and her husband was behind bars in connection with the fodder scam. But when Lalu came out, she became complacent and stopped coming to the office,” said an employee. Even Nitish was punctual in his initial days as the chief minister. “But of late he has preferred to work from home. Of course, unlike the Rabri Devi days, the files are never left pending. Still, there is a similarity between Rabri and Nitish. Both stopped coming to this office after they became politically strong,” the employee said.

 

Friend or foe puzzle

The JD (U) MLA, Rajiv Ranjan, has developed a habit of issuing press notes on different issues. The MLA from Islampur is an old friend of chief minister Nitish Kumar and was previously the chairman of Jharkhand State Electricity Board and Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board. When Nitish gave him a ticket at the JD (U) stronghold in Nalanda, everybody thought he was destined to become the next power minister of Bihar. But that was not to be. The former technocrat-turned-politician now appears to have few friends within the party. “Rajiv is confused right now if the chief minister is his friend or the reverse,” said an old acquaintance of the MLA.

Ex-comrade’s TMC sermon

It is not only chief minister Nitish Kumar who is supporting Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming Bengal polls. Subodh Rai, a former CPM leader and now a Nitish loyalist, urged the CPM leaders of Bengal to follow his path. The former CPM MP of Bhagalpur is now a JD (U) MLA. He quit his long association with the CPM and joined hands with Nitish just before the Assembly polls last year. “If they follow my path they will reach the Bengal Assembly. Else, they will perish,” he was heard telling fellow MLAs. It remains to be seen if the CPM leaders in Bengal follow the ex-comrade’s advice.

 

Complaints never end

The chairman of the disciplinary committee of the JD (U), Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, may feel his job is over with the submission of report on the activities of the dissident party leaders during the Assembly polls. But his partymen think Gyanu has more to do. He is still receiving complaints against various leaders despite his plea that the last date for sending complaints was over. “Despite the date for receiving complaints ending long ago, Gyanu is forced to receive petitions and hear whispers from fellow partymen about other leaders,” said a JD (U) leader.