Jaipur royals recall 1960 Queen’s visit

15 yrs on, Maharana show takes off

In Udaipur too, the royals have been busy. Fifteen years after the proposal to capture the history of Mewar was first mooted, the Maharana Pratap Smarak Samiti has put together a sound-and-light show in Udaipur. Egged on by the royal family and supported by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), an hourlong programme was inaugurated earlier this month, showcasing the ‘‘glorious fighting spirit of Mewar’’.

The proposal was old and the problems never-ending. While it took years for historians to agree on how it should be depicted, the lighting people took off, leaving the project hanging. But now, all that is past. The blood-curdling cries of Maharana Pratap’s army echoes through the open-air auditorium. In an hour, visitors are transported to the land of Bappa Rawal, the battlefields of Haldighati and the palace corridors where Meera pined for Lord Krishna.

Babu made to pay for crossing CM’s path

The Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) association is up in arms. A fortnight after deputy secretary education Pradeep Borad was suspended for sending a letter to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission to take in 10,000 more teachers, the association has said the decision is motivated and unfair.

Borad’s letter was apparently sent before a financial clearance was given for the proposal to hire 10,000 more schoolteachers. The association claims that Borad is being targetted and senior IAS officials and the minister are getting away scot-free.

According to officials, Borad’s letter went only after approval from education minister Ghanshyam Tiwari and education secretary B.N. Sharma. The decision was applauded in public but within the CMO, there was confusion. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who is also Finance Minister, apparently wasn’t very happy with the way Tiwari and his team handled the issue. While Tiwari and Sharma survived, Borad was shunted out. Incidentally, Borad was a favourite during former CM Ashok Gehlot’s regime and considered ‘‘pretty powerful’’.

Govt gets in cockpit mode to save money

The state government is on a flight of fancy. It is creating a new directorate of civil aviation to organise official flights, maintain a fleet of aircrafts and helicopters and hire pilots. So far, the state has no pilot to fly their planes and spends a huge amount on hiring one each time there is a flight scheduled. But it isn’t just the shortage of pilots that has prompted this move. Another important aspect this directorate will be looking at is the strengthening of existing airstrips and the creation of a few others. For this, the Raje government has set aside more than Rs 4 crore and on top of the list are Banswara and Jhalawar cities. While Jhalawar happens to be Raje’s constituency, Banswara is her favourite religious destination. She makes flying visits to both destinations frequently. She goes to Tripur Sinduri temple in Banswara at least once a month and more often if there is a ‘‘crisis in the state’’.

By-election changes party equations

Even as dates for municipal elections in 45 cities were announced for mid- November, at the BJP and Congress headquarters, the recent by-elections are still a debating point. While the BJP wrested Behror seat from the Congress, they were defeated in Merta. While the victories were celebrated, it was the defeats that hogged the limelight.

For Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the joy of winning in Behror was completely overshadowed by the defeat in Merta, where a candidate of her choice was defeated despite more than one special appearance by her, complete with a roadshow. And since the seat considered ‘‘prestigious’’ slipped out of the BJP’s hands, well-wishers of former political advisor Chandraj Singhvi claim he would have turned things around had the party given him a free reign in the Jat belt.

Also, the victory in Behror has not gone down very well with the party since the candidate, Mahant Chand Nath, was not leading the popularity charts and was there only because he had Raje’s unstinted support despite his loss in the Lok Sabha polls. In the opposition camp, PCC president Narayan Singh has managed to hold on to his chair after ensuring a victory in the Jat heartland of Merta. On the other hand, for former ‘‘CM number one’’ Ashok Gehlot, the defeat in Behror has made him lose more ground within the party set-up. In Merta, Congressman Ram Chandra beat BJP’s Ram Prasad Baggad. In Behror, BJP’s Mahant beat Independent and BJP rebel Jaswant Yadav.