Lucknownama

It is said to be the parting kick BJP national president Rajnath Singh is planning for his native state UP.

Rajnaths parting shot
It is said to be the parting kick BJP national president Rajnath Singh is planning for his native state UP. By December 31,a new national president has to be elected. The process of organisational elections in UP has been set into motion with the membership drive,and district-level elections are likely to be completed within this month. The race for the state president has begun. Guess who is the front-runner? Vinod Pandey,a non-entity who is a protégé of Rajnath Singh. Many in the party are in no mood to accept another non-entity after Ramapati Ram Tripathi,but Rajnath Singh is keen to install Vinod Pandey as the state president before he fades into oblivion. The other contender is Jai Prakash Chaturvedi,an MLC who bears a resemblance to Atal Behari Vajpayee he is said to be a favourite of the RSS which is desperate to keep the party on a tight leash.

Image makeover?
IAS officers are surprised by the sudden move of Additional Cabinet Secretary Vijay Shankar Pandey to launch a campaign for officers making their assets public. Pandey has been somewhat of a maverick,and he was among the few officers who had run a campaign to identify the most corrupt officers in the state about a decade ago. Since then,he has mellowed. He now enjoys a formidable clout in the Maya Raj which is completing its half term next week. The talk in government circles is that,after the by-elections,Mayawati is expected to take initiatives to set the agenda for the second half of her tenure. In case Pandeys move for declaration of assets by IAS officers gathers momentum and becomes an issue at the national level,it will help improve the image of the government that has often been in the news for wrong reasons. Obviously,this would also strengthen Pandeys position. It is a good move nevertheless. If politicians and judges are expected to make their assets public,why not IAS officers?

Koda link in UP
The crackdown on Madhu Koda,former chief minister of Jharkhand,and his associates is giving sleepless nights to some in far-away UP. SP general secretary Amar Singh has hinted that an IAS officer,who is close to the present political establishment,has some shady links. The IVRCL,one of the companies being investigated in connection with Kodas deals,is operating in UP too. Though Cabinet Secretary Sashank Shekhar Singh has tried to deflect attention by saying that IVRCL was not given any contract by the present BSP regime,sources said that IVRCL is not the complete story. Since ED and the Income Tax department are investigating Koda,they are just focussing on the job in hand,but the papers they have collected contain lots of prickly stuff which could unsettle many. Even some Congress leaders are said to be worried about the possible fall-out.

No harassment please
The CBI may have arrested the Chief Regional Manager of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation,K M Tripathi,on various charges,but the Lucknow police seems to be in awe of him. The CBI had lodged a case under the Arms Act against Tripathi at Hazratganj police station,allegedly for possessing a .9 mm pistol and 50 cartridges. Since this case has to be investigated by the local police,it has taken him on remand for three days to find the source of the weapon. Police sources said Tripathi has been taken to a nearby hotel for a bath and his morning chores. Food and snacks for him are brought from various restaurants. He is allowed to sit in the SHOs cabin and take a nap in an adjacent room. Two lawyers are invariably there when the investigating officer comes to question him. The moment the IO repeats a question,the lawyers interrupt him No mental harassment please.

Filmi Munna Bajrangi
Bhojpuri film Munna-Bajrangi was first released in 2008 and had a successful run in rural Uttar Pradesh. Munna Bajrangi was the underworld don who had earned notoriety by his numerous crimes,including the killing of BJP legislator Krishnanand Rai. His name pulled crowds to the box office at places like Jaunpur and Varanasi. But the fact is that the film had nothing to do with the don. It is not based on any real life character. In fact,there are two characters in the film called Munna and Bajrangi, clarifies co-producer of the film Sushil Singh,an Allahabad native. When the don was arrested last week by the Delhi Police from Mumbai,the film was released again. But this time,it did not attract crowds. Clearly,you cant pull a fast one on somebody twice.

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