BIHAR has witnessed many rounds of Centrestate confrontation over the years.
Successive governments in Patna have accused the Union government of meting out ‘ step- motherly’ treatment holding it squarely responsible for the state's underdevelopment.
But never in the past has the fight helped Bihar as much as it has done in the past three years, since the Nitish Kumar government came to power.
It is not as though the allegations against each other have stopped flying thick and fast.
Far from it; they have actually increased. The Nitish government has picked up fights with the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) government over a slew of issues ranging from the number of below poverty line ( BPL) families and the fertiliser crisis to delay in the Kosi flood package and utilisation of central funds for different schemes.
Nitish has also unleashed scores of development projects.
He keeps announcing welfare projects worth crores for each and every region of the state. In fact, his government has now resolved to take up repair work on certain National Highways in the state because the Centre is ‘ shirking its responsibility’. Thankfully for Bihar, Nitish's development blitzkrieg has rubbed off on Lalu & Co. Even though they have tried to rubbish Nitish's development initiatives, they know the significance of welfare projects in wooing back the electorate.
Ironically, Lalu had never bothered to lay emphasis on development during his party's prolonged rule in Bihar. But once he was voted out of power and gauged the public opinion in favour of Nitish, he channelled all his resources as a union minister to initiate different projects for his home state. Even though the critics pilloried him for giving away railway projects worth Rs 55,000 crore to Bihar alone, he continued with his largesse for his home state.
Even in this year's interim railway budget, he made provisions for two divisional headquarters, 14 new trains, proposal for a Bullet Train from Patna and what not.
Lalu is not the lone union minister from Bihar riding the development bandwagon.
Other union ministers like Ram Vilas Paswan, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Shakeel Ahmed have all brought many projects from their respective ministries to Bihar.
Needless to say, with a chief minister keen on ensuring speedy development “ to make up for the loss of 15 years of RJD rule” and his rival UPA ministers responding with their own pet central projects to counter him, the people of the state never had it so good.
GUESS, who replaced Patna's reigning “ Love Guru” Matuk Nath Choudhary — a Patna University professor known for his relationship with his student Julie — as the
most sought- after person this Valentine's Day in Bihar? Well, no prizes for guessing that it was the ubiquitous Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. On the occasion, a Patna- based cartoonist, Pawan, premiered a short animation film, Lalu Love Express depicting the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo as a besotted husband who reaches his in- laws' place to meet his wife Rabri Devi on Valentine's Day. But she rejects his flowers and other gifts, saying that she wants her chief minister's chair back as her Valentine's Day gift. This makes Lalu beat a hasty retreat, in the film.
The funny animation elicited loud guffaws at Lalu's expense but the railway minister apparently took no offence. He made it a point to reiterate that he was not against those who wear their hearts on their sleeves on this day. But, at the same time, he made it clear that he personally did not believe in the “ Volatile Day” because it was not part of Indian culture. He also said that he did not believe in giving any flowers to Rabri Devi because she was his “ permanent” wife.
Will Bihar’s idol also become India’s?
BIHAR girl Torsha Sarkar's entry into the grand finale of Indian Idol , a reality show on Sony Television, has enthused music lovers in the state. The winner on the show will take home a cheque of Rs 1 crore, a Tata Winger vehicle, a contract for an album and other fringe benefits.
Torsha's fans, including members of the Bihar Youth Congress, have already undertaken a campaign to ensure her victory. The talented singer from Bhagalpur, who has made it to the top three of the keenly contested show, is pitted against an Armyman and a gifted girl from Tripura. But her admirers believe that she has the talent to emerge the winner.
Some of them have even taken out rallies to drum up support for her. Torsha too has appealed to the people of Bihar to vote for her.
A couple of years ago, Deepali, a singer from Patna, had failed to become the Indian Idol, though she made it to the top seven. Her family had blamed the indifferent attitude of Biharis towards online voting for her elimination.
This is why Torsha's supporters want to whip up pan- Bihari sentiments to ensure the victory of Bihar ki Bitiya ( Daughter of Bihar), as she has been hailed. Since the two other contestants are being backed by Armymen and the people of the North- East, they assert that it is the bounden duty of all Biharis to help her become the first Indian Idol from the state.
There’s much in a name
WHAT'S in a name? Much, if it happens to be Dakupada ( Abode of Dacoits).
Local legend has it that the hamlet located near Bihar- West Bengal border came to be known as Dakupada because most of its residents had criminal antecedents at one point of time. Interestingly, nobody took offence to its name all these years until Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar camped there last Friday as part of his ongoing Vikas Yatra, launched to get a feedback from the people on the performance of his government.
During his stay, Nitish decided to change the name of the village from Dakupada to Rahmatpada ( Blessed place). It was the chief minister's rahmat on the residents of Dakupada.
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