Patna Diary

How Tejashwi twice became ‘chief minister’ 
So what if Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashwi is not in a hurry to become the chief minister of Bihar. He has already been addressed as the CM twice, and that too by senior leaders of the state. CM Nitish Kumar had once addressed him, albeit inadvertently, as chief minister. And then there was another similar slip-up recently, when Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh also addressed Tejashwi as ‘chief minister’ while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Sonepur cattle fair. Both Nitish and Harivansh belong to the Janata Dal (United). Such slip of tongue may be music to RJD leaders’ ears, but the party is, of course, waiting for the real coronation to happen. 

Incentive to construct quake-resistant houses
To encourage people to construct earthquake-resistant houses, the government plans to give incentives to those opting for such techniques. While government buildings are being made earthquake-resistant in Bihar, most people are not adopting the practice. Now the Disaster Management Authority is preparing a proposal under which people will get monetary support for making houses that can withstand tremors. The amount is yet to be decided. Bihar is located in the high seismic zone on the boundary of the tectonic plate joining the Himalayan tectonic plate near the Bihar-Nepal Border. It has witnessed mild tremors thrice in the last two days.

Forging bonds with ‘cultured’ behaviour 
Indian culture seems to be flowing in abundance in the political landscape of the state these days. Recently, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav rushed to touch the feet of CM Nitish Kumar and the latter also hugged him to wish him on his birthday. The gesture was also seen when two musclemen of Bihar’s Kosi region  Rajesh Ranjan a.k.a Pappu Yadav and Anand Mohan met. The occasion was the ring ceremony of Mohan’s daughter. Once arch rivals, both embraced each other tightly as everybody talked about their ‘sanskari vyavhar’ (cultured behaviour) on display. 

Ramashankar
Our correspondent in Bihar
ramashankar@ newindianexpress.com