Yadav vs Yadav, Laloo Prasad vs Veer Lorik. The battle for the Yadav to bring the clan honour and power has just begun. Veer Lorik is the mythical warrior-leader of Yadavs in both UP and Bihar who fought many a battle that has gone down in folk songs. Trouble began when Dadan Yadav, a state minister till six months ago, built a statue of Lorik and wanted it installed in front of Patna Railway Station. The state did not give him land to install the statue anywhere in Patna. Dadan quit the ministry and began a yatra with the statue. He has now joined the Samajwadi Party and become its state president. Laloo Yadav, in turn, as soon as he became Railways Minister, installed a vintage railway engine exactly where Dadan wanted Lorik’s statue. Dadan wagers Laloo will throw away the engine and put Lorik’s statue back when he becomes Bihar CM. Till then, though, the 60-ft bronze statue, that cost more than Rs 3 crore will have to wait on Dadan’s premises.Wheels within wheelsThis is a scooter diary of a different kind. When Nishad, a social worker, shifted base from Delhi to Bihar, he had to get his scooter’s registration transferred to the state. Since 2002, he has made as many as 38 visits to the Patna transport office but the file hasn’t moved. ‘‘Every time, I was approached by touts who said the work will be done in a day for Rs 1,500,’’ he says. From the 22nd visit onwards, which was on June 6, 2002, Nishad kept a scooter re-registration diary. ‘‘Visit 25: MVI not present’’, ‘‘26: MVI just refused to sign and I complained to the DTO’’, ‘‘27: MVI not present’’ and ‘‘28: Complained to DTO again, and he kept the paper with him’’. Thereafter, the clerks refused to sign. On the 37th visit, his application was okayed; now he’s waiting to be photographed, fingerprinted and allotted a number. The next diary Nishad’s planning — visits to the BSNL office where he has applied for an STD booth for an unemployed youth.DIG defianceForced to wait in the sidelines, several IAS and IPS officers of Bihar, are going off-track. Some manage to go on central deputation, some go on long leave and some have even opted for early retirement. But for those forced to stay back, things are not easy. Ajay Verma, a DIG-rank officer, hit the headlines recently after he wrote to the government to ‘‘declare him insane’’, for his inability to survive in the system. He went on to tell the media that all his superiors were ‘‘incompetent’’. But even his friends believe that he stretched the matter a bit too much by refusing to obey a government order last week. The government had decided to deploy senior officers — 22 of them — at the police control room to respond to emergencies during Durga Puja. Verma was among them but shot off a letter to the DG, saying: ‘‘If I do this now, you might ask me to sweep the floor very soon.’’Crossover timeThree months to go before Assembly elections, the cross-over season for politicians in the state has begun. Former Union minister from BJP Sanjay Paswan, who lost the last Lok Sabha elections, has been appointed spokesperson for the RJD. Nagmani, another former minister in the Vajpayee ministry, is now with Ram Vilas Paswan. Anwarul Haque, who has been in almost every party at some time or the other, has left the BJP, protesting the new hardline policies under L.K. Advani. ‘‘He was with the Congress during its heydays, then joined the RJD and just before the last LS elections, joined the BJP. After losing the elections on a BJP ticket, Haque was waiting for an opportunity to quit the BJP. No one is sure what will be his next stopover.STF pay bluesAfter the bonanza that Tamil Nadu government rained on the Special Task Force following the killing of Veerappan, the Bihar STF has become more conscious on what it is missing out. Not only have they never been given any cash awards for the several breakthroughs in recent years, their salaries are also paltry. They get only 12 per cent extra compared to more than 50 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and UP. ‘‘Constables get only Rs 400 extra for signing up for dangerous jobs,’’ an officer points out, and ‘‘this is no good morale booster.Whenever we send a proposal to better service conditions, it is ridiculed by higher authorities.’’
