Parting Shots
BJP knew about Nitish’s move; tried to checkmate him
The BJP learnt about Nitish Kumar’s decision to switch sides a few days before the decision was announced. JD(U) leaders said that immediately after getting a whiff of Nitish’s plan, Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Singh, who belongs to the BJP, convened a meeting of the ethics committee of the state legislature. The committee was headed by former minister and BJP member Ram Narayan Mandal. The plan, according to JD(U) sources, was to disqualify about three dozen RJD MLAs in an old case of attempt to assault the Speaker in his chamber. The idea behind the move was to deprive the Mahagathbandhan of a majority in the House. JD(U) leaders said that BJP leaders were also working on a large number of MLAs of the RJD and JD(U) to win them over to support a BJP-led government in the state. Some RJD MLAs recorded calls with BJP leaders in which BJP leaders are heard asking them to switch sides. These calls were shared by the RJD MLAs with Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav who in turn shared the recordings with Nitish Kumar. JD(U) leaders said the frenzied efforts by the BJP to wean away JD(U) and RJD MLAs and the Speaker’s move to convene the ethics committee to disqualify the militantly loyalist RJD MLAs removed any doubts that Nitish Kumar might have had about the BJP’s design. What followed, as they say, is history.
Uncle judge syndrome
HC postings stuck over inclusion of ex SC judge’s son
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday from the ramparts of the Red Fort that nepotism has gripped top institutions of the country and this is undermining our nation’s talent and potential. He should perhaps inquire as to why one of the largest High Court benches in India has not been able to send its recommendation for the appointment of judges for over nine months. Sources say that the matter is stuck due to differences among the three senior-most judges on the inclusion of a son of a former SC judge in the list. The said lawyer son does not fulfill the criteria for being recommended for a judgeship on two important counts. He is not ordinarily resident in the state from where he is sought to be made a judge. Second, he has no practice in the state concerned. But most importantly, the lawyer son of the SC judge has not attained 45 years of age. He is 43. But his father, an influential man in the system who is holding a high government office, is insisting that his son be made a judge. The chief justice of the concerned High Court is reportedly inclined to oblige the SC judge, but the next two judges are refusing to play ball. The Supreme Court has in the past withheld names on the ground of age. There have, however, been exceptions to this rule. The brother of Justice Arun Mishra was appointed a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before reaching the age of forty-five. Justice Mishra was a sitting SC judge and part of the collegium at the time of the appointment. All eyes are on the High Court collegium to see if the bar would be lowered by uncle judges for the SC judge’s son.
Kissa kursi ka
RS dy chief Harivansh’s fate hangs in the balance
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh’s decision not to accept the invite by JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh to attend the meeting of party MPs and MLAs, where the decision was taken to break alliance with the BJP, has not gone down well with the party brass. Harivansh is a former journalist who was sent to the Rajya Sabha by Nitish Kumar. He was later elevated to the position of Deputy Chairman of the House by the ruling NDA on the advice of Nitish. In the run-up to the recent Bihar breakup, the JD(U) had called a meeting of its MPs and MLAs. The JDU) president had personally invited Harivansh for the meeting. But Harivansh refused to attend saying it would not be proper for a man in his position to attend a party meeting. Miffed with his decision, the JD(U) president announced at a press conference at Patna that Nitish Kumar was wrongly advised by four persons to break alliance with the Mahagathbandhan in 2017 and join hands with the BJP. He said Harivansh was one of the four persons. The other prominent person who had advised Nitish to switch partners in 2017 was former Union minister RCP Singh, who was so close to Nitish at one point of time that he was elevated to the position of party president. RCP Singh has since been shown the door by the party. Lalan Singh said RCP Singh was working with the BJP while being part of the JD(U). Similar doubts are now being expressed about Harivansh. There is a strong demand for action against him. Party leaders say that options before them are limited but the chief minister has been asked to take a call on the friends of BJP in the party and action is likely against them.