Lucknownama: Surprise visitor

not-so-bright idea

Whose bright idea was it to close down malls and shops at 7 pm to deal with the power crisis? Sources said it was Surendra Mohan Agarwal,SP leader from Kanpur,who made the suggestion in the presence of Mulayam Singh Yadav,Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav. Some senior officers of the Power Department,who were also present,liked it. Mulayam Singh Yadav trusted Agarwal because he is a leader of traders. And once Mulayam Singh said yes,who could disagree? Officials of the Labour Department were called and asked to draft the necessary order,which they promptly did. But it stirred a hornets nest,and the order had to be withdrawn in less than 24 hours.

Ball game

The Assembly has passed the UP Public Service (SCs,STs and OBCs Reservation) Amendment Bill,2012,but the government is keeping its fingers crossed. The BSP,which had opposed the bill,has a majority in the Legislative Council. It can send the bill to a select committee,and none can say how long the committee will take to formulate a report. In the meantime,the ordinance which the bill is meant to replace may lapse,creating a messy situation for the government. SP crisis managers are reportedly trying to persuade the BSP to defeat the bill and make its point. For the ruling party,the obvious gain is that the bill will then go back to the Assembly where it will be passed a second time,after which it will not require the council’s approval. Will the BSP play ball?

bsp’s ‘dark horse’

The BSP is grooming a new man to take on Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. His name is Chandra Prakash Matiyari. He will replace Ashish Shukla who had contested against the Congress general secretary in Amethi in 2009. Behenji is reportedly unhappy that Shukla failed to make any impact although he was made vice-chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Development Board and provided Y-category security. After losing in 2009,Shukla also lost the Assembly election from Amethi. Not much is known about Matiyari. But if Shukla has failed the popularity test,so has Matiyari: he lost the Assembly election in Gauriganj,which is part of Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

side effects of victory

Staff at the Samajwadi Party

office are happy these days. Their party runs the state,and they have

a constant rush of visitors,seeking favours,big and small. The party

has given them a salary hike and a bonus of Rs 20,000 each. In addition,they have got new steel-grey safari suits,which is now their official dress code.