Humble gesture
The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, seems to be on a feet-touching spree, once again. And when he is not touching others’ feet, he makes do by folding his hands. The latest instance of this was at a religious function hosted by RK Sinha, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Rajya Sabha member, at a temple in Patna. Speaking at the event, Sinha, better known as the founder of the international private security agency, SIS, thanked Kumar for renovating the temple. At this, the CM suddenly got up and touched Sinha’s feet, leaving all those who had gathered at the function stunned. On earlier occasions, Kumar had prayed with folded hands to the director-general of police to expedite the recruitment of constables, and to bureaucrats to ensure the swift completion of the development projects. Once, he even touched the feet of contractors and builders. However, Kumar touching the feet of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, at an election rally for the Lok Sabha still bags the top prize in terms of shock value. While Kumar’s opponents have attributed his gestures to a deterorating mind, his own party leaders have asserted that he is just being polite and humble.
Fear factor
The muscleman-turned-politician and parliamentarian from Purnia, Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav, has been living in perpetual fear ever since he claimed that he would destroy the network of the jailed don, Lawrence Bishnoi, in just 24 hours if the Centre gave him a free hand. His claim prompted telephonic threats, allegedly by Bishnoi’s associates and supporters, making him scamper to the Union home minister, Amit Shah, pleading for an upgrade of the Y-category cover that is allotted to him at present. But his request was declined.
In the meantime, Yadav’s wife and Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh, Ranjeet Ranjan, told the media that neither she nor the couple’s two sons had anything to do with Yadav or his statements, implying that they were no longer together. Ranjan also washed her hands of the entire episode by saying that it was an issue of law and order and the government should see to it. But there has been a striking change in the activities of Yadav since the incident. He has stopped his daily janata durbars and ratri chaupals in his constituency as well as his native place, Madhepura, and has reduced his public appearances. However, Yadav soon realised that such a decision would impact his public image and announced that he was heading to Mumbai to campaign for Zeeshan Siddique, the son of the slain politician, Baba Siddique, for the upcoming assembly polls.
Strike back
The former CM of Odisha and current leader of the Opposition, Naveen Patnaik, has found the right opportunity to put the Mohan Charan Majhi-led dispensation on the mat. Patnaik attacked the state government over the death of two tribal women in the Kandhamal district after eating mango kernels, highlighting the serious loopholes in the public distribution system, which is responsible for the deaths. Majhi, a tribal himself, has landed in a tight spot.
Patnaik remained silent when the Majhi government downgraded his security and reduced the number of his security personnel from 23 to just two. But this time he decided to not hold back. He alleged that the Majhi government had ruined the gains made by his Biju Janata Dal government, which not only ensured adequate food grains for the people but also introduced a food security scheme for those who are not covered under the National Food Security Act. Patnaik’s charges have put Majhi on the back foot. The latter is now trying his best to come out of the situation without losing public confidence.
Bad blood
Assam is witnessing some intense and no-holds-barred campaigning for the upcoming bypolls in five assembly constituencies, especially in the politically volatile Samaguri where the CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and the Congress Lok Sabha MP, Rakibul Hussain, have been at each other’s throats. Once influential ministers in the erstwhile Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in the state, Sarma and Hussain are now digging into each other’s pasts to run the other down.
Sarma, now a leading light in the ruling BJP, has accused Hussain of being involved in back-room appointments as a minister in the Gogoi dispensation. Sarma asserted that Hussain was a “goonda who has no value”, and called for a police investigation into an alleged job scam. Welcoming the probe, Hussain, whose son, Tanzil, is the Congress’s candidate from Samaguri, has responded in kind. He has accused Sarma of distributing question papers to those appearing for government jobs in his constituency and tampering with the OMR sheets of government job exams. Hussain even raked up a few old cases involving Sarma, whom he called a “revolver-wielding goonda”. Sarma and Hussain were known to be good friends despite belonging to different parties. Clearly, there are no permanent friends or foes in politics.
