Patna Diary 23-06-2012

Singh fights back in anger

Rural works minister Bhim Singh has become outspoken of late. “He is issuing statements against political adversaries of chief minister Nitish Kumar almost everyday. He is beating even the spokespersons of the party,” said a senior JD(U) leader.

On Thursday, Singh declared an all-out war on LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan for questioning the secular credentials of the Bihar chief minister. The NDA leaders are wondering how the minister turned offensive all of a sudden. A JD(U) leader appeared to have a clue. “When Union minister Jairam Ramesh came to meet the chief minister at 1 Aney Marg, Singh was clueless about the visit though the discussions of Nitish and Ramesh veered around issues related to Singh’s department. The minister has begun to play a pro-active role, at least politically, after that,” the JD(U) leader said.

Long live romance

A person approached deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi ecently seeking action against his damaad son-in-law). He said his daughter eloped and arried a boy of another caste. “Worse, the boy has not completed schooling,” said he. Though the man pleaded the deputy chief minister to call the uperintendent of police of his district, Modi remained unmoved and told the man that he should desist from sending his damaad to jail. “Modi’s sympathy for the son-in-law is natural. odiji himself has arried not only out of his caste but outside his eligion. Why will he want to see persons solemnising love marriages behind bars?” asked a BJP leader with a smile.

BPL criteria

Claiming that his ame had been excluded from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list, a person urged a minister to et it restored. The inister noticed his ellphone and asked why should his name be ncluded in the BPL list. The man said the ellphone was a necessity just as food. Ultimately, the minister gave in. We have had persons having multi-storeyed buildings and even IAS officers in the BPL list. Why victimise a person having a cellphone?” the minister asked.

Derailment scare

The steam engine Lalu Prasad installed outside the Patna Junction station when he was the Union railway minister to remind people of railway’s history might be removed. The railway authorities are reportedly seriously considering to remove the engine because of traffic congestions. “It is also a den of crime and criminals indulge in all sorts of activities there. The engine is actually off track here because this is not the right place for installing a museum piece,” said a railway officer. Of course, there is another gift to Patna by Lalu as railway minister. It is the children’s train inside Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. “This one is on right track,” said an employee of the park, stressing that it was a runaway success among children.