Two powerful politicians of the recent past— dissident JD(U) MP Lallan Singh (right) and former Union minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh — shared the dais at an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of first Bihar chief minister Sri Krishna Sinha. While Singh was known for his proximity with chief minister Nitish Kumar, Akhilesh Prasad Singh was the blue-eyed boy of the RJD chief, Lalu Prasad. I was the right hand man of Laluji and Lallan Bhai was the right hand man of Nitishji. Both of us quit power to serve the people of Bihar,” said Akhilesh. A senior politician agreed that both of them were right hand men. “But both are in wilderness because of their political miscalculation just before the last Assembly polls. While Lallan thought he could unseat Nitish, Akhilesh believed he had a better chance to win on the Congress ticket. It is a classic case of right hands going wrong,” he said. When a speaker was talking about “changed Bihar where everybody believed in co-existence” at a public function attended by Union minister Salman Khurshid, two groups engaged in fisticuff. Khurshid gave an amused look at the organiser and the person who was talking about a changed Bihar. “We may have better roads, law and order and healthcare. But some things like fight between supporters of the same political party will never change,” a senior leader said, pointing out that the “tradition” was strong in the Congress. He recalled how the supporters of former state party Congress chief Anil Sharma and those of former MP Ranjita Ranjan got involved in a scuffle in a meeting convened by Sharma at SK Memorial Hall a couple of years ago. The Congress has not changed with changing Bihar, he added. Whenever celebrities visit Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park these days, the obvious question reporters ask them is if they would adopt any animal. Bollywood actor Neetu Chandra was no exception. Her answer to the query was “white horse”. A zoo official said: “Neetu’s answer was a cute one but the zoo does not have a white horse nor is there any plan to have any.” Suggesting that the actors should try to know which species are there in the zoo, he said: “The zoo would get no money from Neetu.” /B>Priests are back in business. On Thursday, a political function held in the state capital saw Vedic chants before it was formally inaugurated. Priests from outside the state recited mantras from Vedas before formal inauguration of a BJP-sponsored function recently. “The priests had disappeared in the 1990s with the RJD chief, Lalu Prasad, venting his distrust for ituals. But now, even Laluji has started believing in religious functions and the words of the priests. So, the priests are back in business with a bang,” a senior politician said.
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
