Bitter truths,best left alone

Education minister P.K. Shahi recently accused former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi of suppressing the file related to the hike in salaries of contract teachers. Shahi alleged the file was delayed for around nine months. Modi, who was the finance minister in the NDA government, shot back, putting the ball in the chief minister’s court. ointing out such major decisions were taken at the chief minister’s level, Modi said: “The chief minister, Nitish Kumar, wanted to delay the decision of hiking the salaries of contract teachers so that its benefits could be reaped during polls.” Shahi had no retort. “When the alliance collapsed, one thought the BJP and the JD(U) would come out with bitter truths of the NDA regime. But most of the JD(U) ministers, and former BJP ministers, have preferred to remain silent. Shahi is basically not a seasoned politician and that is why he makes such statements. If both sides reveal the bitter truths, nobody would be spared — not even the chief minister,” said a seasoned Congress leader.

Nitish mantra

D(U) MLC Sanjay Singh is in the news whenever the BJP attacks chief minister Nitish Kumar. When Nitish’s former deputy, Sushil Kumar Modi, declared his party would not leave him in peace, Sanjay declared the BJP was out to disturb the people of Bihar. A seasoned politician said: “Sanjay has equated Nitish Kumar with Bihar. During the pre-Emergency days, a leader, D.K. Baruah, used to chant ‘Indira is India and India is Indira’. Similarly, Sanjay should chant ‘Bihar is Nitish and Nitish is Bihar’, but he should remember what happened to the Congress when the 1977 elections took place.”

Fate rerun

Abdul Bari Siddiqui has to make way for Nand Kishore Yadav, again. The bungalow he stays in now (3, Polo Road) is earmarked for the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly — a post Siddiqui lost when the JD(U) and the BJP parted ways. “This will be the second time in the last eight years that he has to leave his official accommodation. When the NDA came to power in 2005, Nand Kishore Yadav was made the road construction minister. Siddiqui had held the post when the RJD was in power. Siddiqui had to vacate his bungalow to accommodate Yadav,” said a senior BJP leader, joking that the fate of Yadav and Siddiqui were closely interlinked.