ight words on wrong platformhief minister Nitish Kumar reportedly had a tough time recently convincing the members of the Planning Commission to enlarge the state’s plan size for the next financial year to Rs 24,000 crore. While Nitish laid stress on the drought conditions in the state for two consecutive years for more aid, an IAS official made his job difficult making tall claims on the state’s improvement in the agriculture sector. The Planning Commission members were amused over the contrast — drought and increased agriculture production. There are some officials who refuse to understand the mind of their political bosses and cause embarrassment. They say the right things at the wrong moment,” said a senior IAS officer. He recalled a senior official had caused uproar at a public event during the Lalu-era when he talked about corruption and the nexus between criminals and politicians. Three ministers shared the stage with him and one of them said he wished he had staged a walkout during the function.onotony f strikeany — lawyers, photocopy stall owners and typists — treated the lawyers’ strike as a holiday. But the security guards of Patna High Court were unhappy. The high court, which usually bustles with activities, wore a deserted look. A security guard said: “We cannot go on holiday. We still have to be on guard. Usually, throughout the day, we talk to the litigants, witnesses and lawyers and get a lot of entertaining information. But during strike there is nobody to talk to. Even a cup of tea is difficult to get — all the tea stall owners have vanished.” No prizes for guessing who wants the strike to end soon. usy for othinghe state Congress leaders are whiling away their time. “There is nothing to be busy about after the Assembly polls. Even infighting has taken a backseat. We have not developed a liking for each other but the central leadership has stopped granting us appointments. We cannot even crib about each other,” said a senior Congress leader. It is no wonder that the senior party leaders have not even bothered to take part in the meetings called by the state party chief Mehboob Ali Quaiser. “The state Congress is issuing statements and staging a couple of dharnas. But these are just rituals,” said the leader, recalling that he had recently called a fellow Congress leader to meet him. “I asked him if he was busy. He immediately said there was nothing to be busy about and I was welcome to his house any time of the day,” he added.o more -factorhere was a time when JD (U) MP Lallan Singh was considered the party’s X-factor because of his close association with chief minister Nitish Kumar. The equation appears to have changed after his dissent and the party’s reported move to ask the Lok Sabha Speaker to unseat Lallan as he had actively campaigned for the Congress in the Assembly polls. Sources said persons who advocated for Lallan’s pardon found them out in the cold. “Those who plead the case of Lallan before Nitish are political novice. Both of them know each other for almost three decades. If Nitish wanted to reconcile he could very well call Lallan. But Lallan appears to have become the ex-factor instead of the X-factor,” said a JD (U) MLA.