Lucknownama

kissa kursi ka

Senior officials had a tough time at the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers last week. Seats reserved for them were occupied by SP legislators and ministers,and officers were seen looking around for vacant chairs. DGP Devraj Nagar could not find one and was adjusted in the fourth row by journalists. Principal Secretary (Home) R M Srivastava and former DGP A C Sharma had to sit in the last row.

Forgetful mp

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav faced an awkward situation while taking a meeting of district president and legislators from Mainpuri. He asked them about the position of the SP in the area in view of the next Lok Sabha election. Everyone said it was excellent,but people wanted their MP to visit them regularly. Mulayam agreed,only to realise that he himself is the MP,and then added,“I will come.”

Family matters

Ramgopal Yadav is leaving no stone unturned for his son Akshay Yadav,who has been declared SP candidate for Ferozabad Lok Sabha seat. Making frequent visits to Ferozabad,Ramgopal asks people to vote for Akshay,as that will get them another MP for free. The other MP will be Ramgopal himself who is a member of the Rajya Sabha. He has already sanctioned funds for installing 562 handpumps in Ferozabad from his MP’s Local Area Development Fund.

kid gloves off

The expulsion of Lok Sabha member Vijay Bahadur Singh from the BSP on Wednesday,four days after he defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial “puppy remark” on the 2002 riots,surprised many in the party. A day after Singh made his statement,BSP chief Mayawati addressed a press conference but issued only a warning of suspension. The leniency shown towards Singh was very unlike Mayawati,who is usually quick to suspend or expel anyone indulging in indiscipline. However,sources said that Singh is close to a senior party leader and is also his business partner,so he was being given time to fall in line. But Singh was no more interested in the BSP after having been denied the ticket to contest election,and is reportedly hobnobbing with the BJP.

Old habits

BJP president Rajnath Singh may have said that the Ram temple is not “an electoral or political issue”,but the BJP in UP does not seem to let it go so easily. After BJP general secretary Amit Shah’s remark that he prayed in Ayodhya for the construction of a grand Ram temple there,party MLC Hriday Narayan Dixit has written an article in the latest issue of the party’s mouthpiece,Kamal Jyoti,condemning the reaction of political parties to Shah’s remarks. In a detailed article,Dixit,who is also the executive editor of the magazine,says the Ram temple is the dream of every majority community member. While they are tolerant enough,they should not be provoked much,else the country may suffer,he concludes.

Symbolic solution

The distribution of “red beacons” to advisers and chairmen by the Akhilesh Yadav government has created a problem for the Congress. During the tour of AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry,Congressmen in many districts demanded similar benefits from the Centre. Mistry and state Congress president Nirmal Khatri tried to explain that providing status symbols on this scale was not possible for the central government. But Congressmen said that it was difficult to motivate workers without such symbols of authority. Also,common people thought those moving about in red-beacon cars could get their work done in the government.