Gagging the good words

The day-long Bihar visit by the PM Manmohan Singh to look into agricultural problem in the state was called off at the last moment last week.

The official reason was that the Prime Minister had to participate in a dinner hosted by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to mark a show of solidarity by the UPA-Left combine ahead of the presidential poll. But it seems the real reason lay elsewhere. Apparently, Lalu Prasad Yadav did not want the PM to visit Bihar. Lalu is learnt to have expressed apprehension that at a time when the RJD was mounting pressure on Nitish Kumar in the state, any remarks by the PM that were not critical of the state Government would be a setback for the Railway Minister8217;s party. Perhaps when it come to Bihar, agriculture can wait, not politics.