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Perkless MLAs badger Paswan, Nitish to join hands
by Arunoday Prakash

     New Delhi/Patna: The pressure for government formation in Bihar is mounting on Lok Jan Shakti party chief Ram Vilas Paswan and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to come together and form a government in the state. The newly elected representatives of Bihar are yet to be sworn in as MLAs, so at the moment they are not entitled to be called MLAs as per the constitution. With each passing day the MLAs of the two parties, particularly those of the LJP, are upping their pressure for a new government. It is noteworthy that the pressure is building, as they are not getting any kind of allowances. MLAs in Bihar are entitled to get a sum of Rs 400 as travelling allowance every day besides other perks, which adds up to around Rs 20,000 per month. Apart from the cash amount they are entitled to get a bungalow in one of the posh localities of the state capital.

      "We are entitled to get a sum of Rs 400 per day as our TA, apart from other allowances, we are not getting them because of the President's rule in the state. All our cash allowances add up to around Rs 20,000 apart from the house we get," said one of the newly elected JD (U) MLA, Shahid Ali Khan. "The Governor has sent a request letter to the President for our pay and houses to be given, on the pattern of what happened in UP during the President's rule. However, the decision is yet to be taken," he said. "Wait for some time, let April 16 come, we may have a new government in place by then. The month of Kharmas (no one starts a new work in this month as it is considered inauspicious in the state) will come to an end on April 14 after that we hope to have a government of our own, with Nitish kumar as the Chief Minister", he added. On the basis of anonymity, sources informed that Paswan, who holds the key, is the man in the middle of the problem. His party MLAs are the most volatile lot and are hoping to get close to the power. They are waiting to sit in their new glazing Boleros and Scorpios, besides the gun totting body guards, which comes up with the title--MLA.

     The pressure of the MLAs has led to the revival of parleys to cobble up numbers for government formation in the state. On Friday, the LJP chief Ram Vilas met President of Janata Dal (United), Nitish Kumar in state capital Patna for a dialogue over the government formation. Both of them also met the Samajwadi Party state unit president, Daddan Pahalwan, to convince him to join hands to form a new government. After the meeting, Pahalwan said, "From the beginning we have been talking of a Third Front and have campaigned against Lalu Yadav. We are hopeful of forming a government very soon". The JD-U by itself secured 55 seats with BJP having 37 seats. The LJP has 29 seats in the 243-member house. JD (U) Chief Ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar sent copies of a Common Minimum Programme prepared by his party to six non-RJD parties, including the LJP and other independents, inviting them for negotiations for government formation in Bihar. He left his closest ally, the BJP out of the letter circulation. Kumar sent copies of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and letters inviting them for dialogue to the LJP, CPI-ML (Liberation), CPI, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), besides 17 independents to form a government for which the CMP containing finer points of election manifestos of the parties, who went to assembly polls on anti-RJD plank, could form the base.

      "There is renewed effort at formation of Government in Bihar after President's rule. We have sent letter to six political and seventeen independent parties, "said Nitish Kumar, JD (U) leader. The JD (U) leader said the Congress and CPI-M had not been involved in the process because they had already pledged their support to the RJD. If JD (U)'s exercise materialises, the group would have the support of 120 MLAs JD-U (55), LJP (29), CPI-ML (07), CPI (03), Samajwadi Party (04), BSP (02), NCP (03) and independents (17). The group would be two short of the majority required in the 243- member Bihar assembly.

Gladys Staines returns to work in Mayurbhanj (Go To Top)

     Bhubaneswar (Orissa): The comeback of Glady Staines, the widow of Australian missionary Graham Satines, has generated a wave of happiness at the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Hospital. Staines, who was recently presented the Padma Shree, one of India's highest civilian honour for distinguished service to society, was given a joyous welcome by inmates of the hospital. "Glady was very nice, used to understand our problems and we kept praying to God that Glady should come back as soon as possible. We are very happy that she is back," said Jamaru, one of the inmates of leprosy ashram. Glady, a trained nurse, has proved herself in the Leprosy Mission of India started by her late husband. The moment she decided to take over, she went ahead with a great courage. Now, she is back in Baripada for 25 days and has dedicated her award to all the leporasy patients. "Since my husband and family have passed away, people of Baripada have certainly assisted me and encouraged me to accomplish my mission. My husband's soul has also encouraged me to do so. I am very thankful to the government and everybody for helping me in all times. I am recieving this honour on behalf of everybody around me who had been assisting me," said Glady Staines. The inmates seem as if they have got renewed energy and life on seeing her after a couple of months.

Rare whale found dead near Bhubaneswar (Go To Top)

     Mouth of the River Devi (Orissa): The body of a rare Baleen Whale has been found off the coast of Bay of Bengal. The whale was found dead by fishermen and tourists at the mouth of the River Devi, 160 km from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa's capital. On spotting the 120-foot-long mammal, the fisherfolk informed wildlife officials. With the help of locals and forest officials the whale was pushed back into the sea. "On the beach, just in front of our camp a whale was found . It was alive and so all the villagers and forest officers pushed it back into the sea. Next day, we drove down the beach, a wonderful experience, but unfortunately we found the same whale dead," said Robert, an eyewitness. Wildlife officials have taken the whale's body for an autopsy. "We are actually conducting an investigation as to how the whale has come to this area because whales are very rare in the Bay of Bengal. It appears to be an accident as to how the whale has died so we are conducting inquiry on all these things," said Suresh Mohanty, the state's Chief Wildlife Warden. Baleen Whales are rarely found in the Indian Ocean, thus not much study has been conducted on this species of whale. They are known to be sociable, and mostly travel in groups called pods.

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