Leaders cash in on party property

The 20 vehicles, SUVs to be precise, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) gave to the district Congress heads during the Assembly elections have not been returned to the party headquarters yet. “Over half-a-dozen of them have been rented out to the taxi service agencies,” said a senior Congress leader. ome of the district heads have refused to pay heed to the state Congress president Mehboob Ali Quaiser’s instruction to return the vehicles. They argued the vehicles had been given by the AICC headquarters in Delhi and not by BPCC and AICC had not asked them to return the vehicles. Taking over party property appears to be an old tradition, recalled senior Congressmen. During the 1970s, jeeps were given to the district party heads for use during the polls. “A large number of vehicles were not returned,” said a senior Congress leader. He pointed out some Congress leaders even sold off land of the district party offices.

Poster fiasco

While parties were celebrating the birth anniversary of late Karpoori Thakur on Monday, two posters created ripples in the state capital. One was put up by the supporters of JD (U) MP Upendra Kushwaha, who staged a dharna demanding a probe into his assets. It had the image of chief minister Nitish Kumar. “Kushwaha is always putting Nitish in embarrassing situations. Why should he use the photo of Nitish on his banners and posters?” asked a senior D (U) leader. The second picture was put up at the Sanjay Gandhi Stadium where the RJD was holding its function. The poster displayed the pictures of the RJD chief, Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, the leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, and Ram Kripal Yadav. But state party president Ram Chandra Purbey was missing in the poster. Former minister and senior party leader Shakuni Choudhary was quick to point it out and demanded action against the persons responsible for putting up the posters.

Tall standards

While everybody hailed the decision of chief minister Nitish Kumar to install a 40-foot high statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Maidan replacing the existing smaller one, RJD chief Lalu Prasad has a poser. “How is one going to garland the statue?” he asked. The query appeared genuine. Even NDA leaders were left scratching their heads. “We can always order a special crane with a platform,” said a JD (U) leader.

Slip out

Former Union minister Raghubansh Prasad Singh, after being snubbed by state RJD chief Ram Chandra Purbey at a function, gave the party a slip and disappeared from the venue. He did not even tell RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Lalu was searching for Raghubansh when former Union minister Raghunath Jha told him Raghubansh babu had left because he had to catch his flight to Delhi. “There was a time when the leaders would not dream of leaving the venue without letting Lalu know,” said a RJD leader. He pointed out right now the party was trying to keep even the small fries in good humour.