Lucknownama

Missing Lalu

Congressmen who had gathered in the party office to watch the live telecast of the Railway Budget presentation by Mamta Banerjee ¿ and days later,the Union Budget by Pranab Mukherjee — missed Lalu Yadav. Every time the Opposition MPs interrupted the ministers,or attacked the UPA government and Sonia Gandhi,the Congressmen felt that the UPA MPs,including those of the Congress,were no match. “Things were different when Lalu was the Railway Minister. He knew how to silence the Opposition with his earthy repartees or his combativeness. And he always stood up for Sonia Gandhi. Now there is none like him,” rued one.

Too much too soon

The induction of Beni Prasad Verma and Raj Babbar in the Congress Working Committee hasn’t gone down well with many partymen. Both Verma and Babbar came to Congress from the SP about two years ago. Old timers in the party can’t recall an instance in several decades when newcomers were given the pride of place in the top policy-making body. “Sharad Pawar was made a CWC member after he returned to the Congress in the late ‘80s,but then he had his political upbringing as a Congressman,” said a party leader. He pointed out that Verma,in particular,was a product of the anti-Congressism of the socialist school of Indian politics. Making him a minister is one thing,making him a permanent invitee to the CWC is entirely different. In his opinion,the Congress should learn a lesson from the BSP,where no newcomer is given a position of influence in the core structure of the organisation.

Safety net

Rewarding good work is a good management practice. But when a government starts handing out commendation letters just a year before elections,it causes some unease. During her recent inspection tour,Chief Minister Mayawati ordered issuing of commendation letters. The first announcement was made in favour of the district magistrate and SP of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar district,which is a new district including most of Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi. “In view of the elections next year,the EC must be keeping a watch on the state. No one knows how it looks at this,” remarked an officer.

Robust health

Already,the health sector in UP was divided among five ministers,one each for health,family welfare,medical education,homoeopathy and ayurveda. A few months ago,the responsibilities at the district level were divided between two chief medical officers,creating much confusion. Last month,the government posted two principal secretaries for family welfare — Pradeep Shukla and Prabhat Kumar Sarangi. None seems to know the logic behind it.