After hubby, MLA to hoist flag at Begusarai

It is going to be a pleasant coincidence. Parveen Amanullah, the state’s social welfare minister and MLA from Sahebpur Kamal seat, will hoist the Tricolour at the Begusarai district headquarters on Republic Day. Her husband, cabinet secretary Afzal Amanullah, had hoisted the national flag there in the capacity of Begusarai district magistrate in the 1980s. ccording to new rules, instead of the district magistrates, the ministers in charge of the district concerned will hoist the national flag at its headquarters. Sahebpur Kamal falls under Begusarai district and Parveen is its minister in charge. In fact, to an extent, her husband’s good image as the Begusarai district magistrate had played a big role in Parveen getting the JD (U) ticket from Sahebpur Kamal in the Assembly polls last year.

Nitish going places

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been invited by a Columbia-based high profile business school to deliver a speech on the “Necessity of exclusive growth” in the first week of April. It is believed that Nitish has drawn widespread attention for putting Bihar on the rails of development. Many individual leaders from foreign countries and international agencies are taking an interest in him. When the Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yan met Nitish on Thursday, he praised the chief minister's work and invited him to Beijing. World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick, who was recently here, also lauded the chief minister’s role in disaster management and released $220 million for rebuilding the areas devastated by the Kosi floods in north Bihar.

Unbiased respect

People around chief minister Nitish Kumar say he has the utmost respect for the judiciary. And they are not wrong. Nitish is extremely happy that the Supreme Court has directed the central government to initiate measures for taking out the illegally earned money deposited in the Swiss banks. “A huge amount of money has been deposited in the Swiss banks by the Mafiosi and corrupt elements. Now the honourable apex court has directed the Centre to bring out the money from the Swiss banks. The money will help us open schools for children and carry out other development works,” Nitish, who has launched his campaign against corruption, said. “The Congress has always been shy of laying hands on corrupt people and money that is illegally earned,” he said. However, it is not that Nitish is only happy with the court pulling up the Centre. When Patna High Court reprimanded a senior state police officer for failing to recover a kidnapped boy, Nitish said: “It is good. The honourable high court must have found fault with the official.”

Milky way

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has a cow at his official residence — 1 Aney Marg. Apparently it meets the milk needs of the chief minister’s family. Insiders revealed the chief minister got the cow to serve pure milk to his mother, who was ailing for a long period of time and died recently. But Nitish’s newfound love for the cow is in sharp contrast to the previous occupants of 1 Aney Marg. Former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had 60 cows on their premises. Lalu was even fond of showing off his cows to visitors. But Nitish does not even mention the cow he has on the premises.