Former BSP district coordinator kills self

Noida farmers protest for compensation

Noida: A month after National Capital Region Planning Board cleared the Greater Noida Master Plan 2021,paving the way to restart construction work that had been on hold for a more than a year,farmers held fresh protests on Sunday morning.

Close to 200 farmers shouted slogans and prevented construction at Gaur Green City housing project,claiming many had not been paid the revised compensation amount ordered by the Allahabad High Court.

Police force was called in to disperse the protesters,who were from Bisrakh,Patwari and surrounding villages.

Protesters also forcibly locked the main gates of Gaur Green City project.

Course correction

At the function organised to launch the scheme of unemployment allowance,Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said the SP government would honour all the promises it had made in the election manifesto within five years. Nothing unusual,except that Mulayam Singh also said that Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani would play the main role in the execution of these schemes. Was he trying to squash reports,which have been in the air for past some weeks,that Usmani is unhappy in Lucknow and wants to go back to the Centre?

Divine factor

While visiting the Congress office,HRD Minister Kapil Sibal enquired about the prospects of the Congress in the state. Local leaders painted a rosy picture. One of them remarked,“Sir,now the future of the Congress is bright; it is in the hands of Ram and Krishna.” As a perplexed Sibal looked at him,the leader explained,“See,our newly appointed state president Nirmal Khatri is from Faizabad-Ayodhya,which is the land of Ram,while the legislature party leader Pradeep Mathur is from Mathura,which is the land of Krishna.” It is not known if Sibal was reassured,but it would be sobering to take a look at the BJP,which has been waiting for the divine blessings of Lord Ram for decades.

Rumours have it

Now that the Congress has got a new state president and a new CLP leader,all eyes are on the future of Digvijaya Singh,AICC general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh. First,Subodh Kant Sahay was mentioned as a possible successor,until his name figured in the scandal over the allotment of coal blocks. Now,Congressmen are talking of Ghulam Nabi Azad as Singh’s likely successor. The speculation got some currency when word spread that Singh may not be in Lucknow when Nirmal Khatri formally takes over as party president on September 11. Instead,he would come the next day along with Azad. A section of partymen,however,say that Singh can’t be in Lucknow on Tuesday because of some important personal commitment in Delhi.

Raging question

BSP men are at a loss to understand why party MP from Punjab,Avtar Singh Karimpuri,blew a fuse in the Rajya Sabha the other day. He caught SP’s Naresh Agarwal and grappled with him when the latter opposed the constitutional amendment for reservation in promotion. BSP men found it amazing that Karimpuri did this in the presence of party president Mayawati who is known for her dislike of undignified conduct by partymen. Incidentally,Karimpuri’s educational qualifications,according to his bio-data on the Rajya Sabha’s website,include “BA (Public Administration),Diploma in Police Administration,Diploma in Social Welfare Administration,MA (Human Rights),Post-Graduate Diploma in Criminology and Forensic Science”. Guess,which of his skills Karimpuri displayed in the Rajya Sabha.

lost opportunity

SP spokesman Rajendra Choudhary went to the dharna sthal to express solidarity with government employees protesting against reservation in promotion. He made a speech,reiterating the SP’s known opposition to the bill,and drew an applause. As he was leaving,Chaudhary spotted a small stage and a gathering of protesters nearby. He moved towards it,maybe sensing an opportunity to impress another gathering by making a speech. But the partymen accompanying him felt uneasy: it was a gathering of village pradhans demanding more rights,and the SP men weren’t sure of their own government’s stance on their demand. The protesters,on the other hand,saw an opportunity to extract an assurance from the SP spokesman. They quickly surrounded Chaudhary and insisted that he address them. The SP men and the police escort had to push and jostle to extricate Chaudhary. Later,tongues wagged at the SP office about Chaudhary’s love for speech-making.