Lucknownama

Foot in mouth?

BSP MP from Jaunpur Dhananjay Singh is one of the very few politicians who visited ailing Amar Singh at AIIMS. He also criticised Amar Singh’s arrest in the cash-for-vote scam,pointing out that if he could be arrested on the basis of a statement,then what about Home Minister P Chidambaram,whom A Raja,who is in jail in the 2G scam,had named in his statement. The BSP leadership did not like Dhananjay’s action,more so his statement. When was the last time a BSP leader attacked somebody of the Union Home Minister’s stature? That is Behnaji’s prerogative in the BSP. Dhananjay is already on the watch. His father Rajdeo Singh,a sitting MLA,has been denied a party ticket for the 2012 election.

Caught napping

More than a week ago,the Election Commission of India sent an order to the UP government banning transfers of district magistrates and other staff involved in the revision of electoral rolls from September 29. Later,the Chief Electoral Office of the state sent copies of the order to principal secretaries of appointment,revenue and rural development departments. But no one attached much importance to the order. When this newspaper broke the story,the Chief Minister’s Office was caught unawares. An official reportedly contacted the CEO’s office to confirm if the news was correct.

Shoring up defences

Former Family Welfare Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha is said to be busy collecting documents and consulting lawyers,just in case the Allahabad High Court decides to order a CBI investigation into the financial irregularities in NRHM. The court has reserved its judgment after completing the hearing on a PIL. It was during Kushwaha’s tenure that two CMOs were killed and the scandals started tumbling out. Kushwaha,along with then Health Minister Anant Mishra,had to resign,taking moral responsibility. If the old ghosts come out of the closet,Kushwaha may have much to answer for.

Seizing the day

Hoardings of Steel Authority of India have come up at several strategic points,each with a photo of Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma peeping at passersby. Local TV news channels carry advertisements of SAIL,featuring Verma prominently. No other union minister of the Congress — there are five of them — is getting this kind of image build-up at public expense. Partymen link it with the 2012 Assembly elections. Since there are several contenders for chief ministership,Verma wants to make the best use of the intervening time for self-projection.

Ayodhya association

Almost 19 years after the Babri Masjid demolition,BJP leaders now rarely talk about the incident. In recent years,L K Advani,who had led the BJP campaign against the Babri Masjid,has even tried to dissociate himself from the demolition. Nevertheless,ticket aspirants are highlighting their contribution to the Ayodhya movement,which led to the demolition of the disputed structure. Among them is a Muslim ticket-seeker from Unnao district who has mentioned in his bio-data that he had made arrangements for food and lodging of the ‘Karsevaks’ heading towards Ayodhya in December 1992.

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