From Buddha to Mahatma

The only god to have occupied a place in the residential office of chief minister Nitish Kumar is Gautam Buddha. A nice statue of Buddha, wrapped in a glossy yellow piece of cloth, graces one of the cupboards in Nitish’s office. he statue made a visiting journalist ask if Nitish was turning to Buddhism. Well, no he is not turning to Buddhism or any other particular faith. Nitish treats Buddha as a symbol of Bihar’s glorious past. He has given extra emphasis on the sites and relics related to the state’s pride. He visits Nalanda, which is not only his home district but also associated with Gautam Buddha and Mahavira. He also got the Dalai Lama to inaugurate the Buddhist meditation hall he got built in the heart of Patna. Probably, a Buddhist monk presented him with the statue placed in his office. That is not the only apostle of peace in his office, though. On the wall in front of Buddha's statue hangs a nice portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.

 

 

 

First deliver, then expect

Bihar has once again failed to find representation in the Union council of ministers, which was reshuffled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. The Union government's “neglect” of Bihar — one of the most populous states — has played a big role in the failing popularity of the Congress in the state. The Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, is scheduled to visit the state in February. But a senior Congress leader said: “Rahul and Sonia Gandhi cannot win hearts of the people of Bihar by fooling and ignoring them. They land here to deliver the sermons and speak against the government and other political opponents. But they don't offer anything to the state's people.” There is a section in the Congress, which strongly feels Rahul’s repeated foray into the state will not work for the party unless it comes out with something tangible for the state. “The Congress needs to come out of the negative image it has in the state,” the leader said.

Art of governance

What is a minister all about? What is he supposed to do? What is the basic duty and work of the secretary of a department? How should policemen conduct themselves? These are the few questions on which chief minister Nitish Kumar deliberates at length in his meetings with ministerial colleagues, departmental secretaries and the police personnel. he Telegraph happened to meet a minister and senior JD (U) leader who was a minister in Lalu-Rabri regime for quite a long time. “It is under Nitish that I have actually understood what a minister is all about and how he should perform his duty. Nitish Kumar virtually teaches the art of governance the way a schoolteacher teaches his students,” the minister said. The senior IAS officers have the same thing to say. “The chief minister virtually takes our class when we meet him. He reads the files diligently. It is hard to bluff him,” said a secretary. Nitish is surely in sharp contrast to Lalu, who used to describe the files as a “boring labyrinth of papers”. And the first lesson he gives the cops is about their conduct with the masses./B>

Flag power lost

The district magistrates will no longer hoist the Tricolour in their respective headquarters on Republic Day and ndependence Day. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has altered the rules, which envisage that the minister-in-charge of the district will hoist the flag at the district headquarters concerned. In case, there are two ministers in a district, the chief minister will decide who would hoist the flag. Though the immediate reaction of the babus on the new development is not known, it is believed they will not like to be deprived of their age-old ceremonious power to hoist the Tricolour.