Tremors over Amar Katha
Reports of Jaya Prada returning to the Samajwadi Party are causing intermittent tremors in the party since it is common knowledge that if Jaya Prada is on the way in, Amar Singh cannot be far behind. All those party leaders, who had issued statements towards Mr Singh and Ms Jaya Prada, when the two were expelled from the party in 2010, are now getting jittery about their fate.
Leaders like Mohammad Azam Khan, whose hostility with Ms Jaya Prada had acquired legendary proportions, has been maintaining a studied silence on the developments. Sources close to him insist that this is just the proverbial lull before the storm.
Senior party leader Ram Gopal Yadav is also said to be unhappy over the issue but since party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is determined to have his way, there is little others can do about it. And the ones who are rather happy over “Amar Uncle’s return” are Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek Yadav and his wife Aparna. The family fissures on this issue would undoubtedly make interesting viewing in the coming days and more tremors can be expected on this front.
A Creative argument
Many leaders are known for their “out-of-the-box” ideas, but Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will be known for his “out-of-the-box arguments” to silence his opponents. Bogged down by criticism and allegation of rampant malpractices in Assam Public Service Examination, which declared its result on Thursday, Mr Gogoi said, “If there is doubt that wife, son, brother or nephew of some VIPs are selected wrongly by the APSC, one can use RTI to see the copy of such doubtful candidates and seek relief in the court of law.”
However, a journalist pointed out that one of the candidates selected by APSC had failed in Class 10 and passed it by appearing in compartmental examinations.
Finding him being cornered by journalists, Mr Gogoi said, “I also failed in matric examination once, it doesn’t imply that I am not competent.” An IAS officer and additional chief secretary of the state, sitting next to the chief minister, nodded his head in agreement with Mr Gogoi, who reiterated that even mediocre or weak students could compete in IAS exams. The out-of-the-box argument of Mr Gogoi was enough to silence the journalists.
Bollywood inspires
Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, expelled Rashtriya Janata Dal MP from Madhepura, Bihar, is an avid fan of Bollywood movies. A five-time MP from Bihar, Pappu Yadav believes that the recent Akshay Kumar-starrer Gabbar Is Back is inspiring and shows the right way to fight corruption. So impressed was Pappu Yadav with the movie that he urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to make it tax-free in the state.
“Akshay Kumar and the filmmakers took a bold step towards fighting corruption — an issue that has been my political agenda. I also want to eradicate corruption,” the Madhepura MP had said after the movie was released. This is not the first time Pappu Yadav has stood for any movie. Earlier, when Aamir Khan-starrer PK was released, he had ordered his youth brigade to give protection to the movie from various factions who were opposing the movie and threatened to disrupt its screening in Bihar.
So impressed is Pappu Yadav with Gabbar Is Back that he now wants to wage a war against corrupt medical practitioners, officials and politicians. But will Pappu Yadav fight corruption, “Gabbar” style?
