JOIN USDreaded dengue, curable malaria, dangerous swine flu
Worried over attempts by the Congress to marginalise him in the State he ruled for 15 uninterrupted years, Lalu minces no words in deriding the grand old party. Cautioning his Muslim brethren that Congress was more dangerous than RSS, the RJD chief said, “Congress is like aedes mosquito that bites people unawares, causing dreaded dengue fever. The RSS, on the other hand, is like anopheles mosquito which bites with a buzzing sound, causing the easily curable malaria.”
Not prepared to take uncharitable remarks lying down, Congress hit back: “Lalu is as dangerous as swine flu.”
No son-rise in LJP
Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan wished RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s cricketer son Tejaswi Yadav ‘good luck’ after he was introduced to the media, but at the same time scotched rumours that his son Chirag Paswan may follow suit. “Chirag is into films, and is not cut out for politics. He will be making his debut as a Bollywood star soon. But if need be, he may campaign for some of my nominees,” Paswan put the record straight.
Nitish’s son Nishant is also far from the madding crowd of politicians. Having completed his engineering from BIT, Mesra (Ranchi), Nishant is believed to be learning the nuances of meditation in Munger’s Yogashram.
Back to classroom
The school headmasters in Bihar will soon be back to classroom learning.
After the Election Commission decided to introduce a SMS-based poll management system, the headmasters were told to undergo a crash course in handling the gizmo. Reason: Most of the teachers in rural areas, who will be deployed as presiding officers and sector magistrates, are not tech-savvy. According to one estimate, out of 56,943 polling booths for 243 constituencies, 50,771 booths are in rural areas and largely untouched by the technological revolution sweeping the country.
These teachers drafted for poll duty will have to inform the EC about arrival of polling party, security personnel, EVMs and polling percentage on hourly basis. Hence the training in mobile phone operation.
Sadhu turns saint
Sadhu Yadav, the infamous brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad, has apparently undergone a change of heart ever since he quit the RJD and joined Congress. This younger brother of Rabri, who has been fielded by the Congress from Gopalganj, has changed his mobile caller tune. Now it’s a bhajan - Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, barsane wale Radhe, an evocation to Lord Krishna. “Yes I have become a Krishna bhakht. I visited Barsana and Vrindavan (the latter town is identified with Lord Krishna). I am now at peace with myself,” said Sadhu.
Poll-inflation
Blame it on inflation if you like. The cost per constituency, of fighting the elections, is Rs 4 crore according to one estimate. This includes government spending. In Rabri’s case, the cost would double due to dual contest. If she wins from both and has to retire from one seat, a by-election would necessitate similar expenditure.
Bihar 2010: Hard times for Nitish
A hung Assembly likely