As Lalu Prasad languishes in jail, RJD gripped by internal conflicts

Congress might grab the upper hand ahead of the Lok Sabha elections

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has plunged into a crisis mode after the Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected party chief Lalu Prasad’s bail plea in the Deoghar treasury case. Insiders said it would have far-reaching consequences in Bihar politics and in the family of Lalu Prasad. In his absence, averred senior leaders, internal conflicts will likely escalate in the RJD and the Congress might grab the upper hand. That apart, the RJD will lose its star campaigner before the Lok Sabha elections. However, leader of Opposition and Lalu’s son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav (pictured) differed saying the party would emerge stronger.

Modi govt’s St Valentine

Whatever might be the issues that constituents of the larger Sangh Parivar, particularly the Bajrang Dal, have with the Valentine’s Day, Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar doesn’t share their views. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, which comes under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the ambit of Kumar’s ministry, has in the last one year reduced the price of coronary stents, and also knee transplants. Kumar says it was no coincidence that his ministry had announced the cap on the price of coronary stents on February 14, 2017. “On the day of the heart, we touched hearts,” he said. When asked about Bajrang Dal’s protests on the Valentine’s Day, Kumar said, “We believe the blood that flows in every heart is the same.” The decision to cap prices of knee transplants was announced on Independence day in 2017.

How to write off a loan

Cases of large loan defaults by big businessmen might be creating angst in the banking circles, but there is no dearth of humour arising out of these cases on social media. Taking a dig at the promoters of Rotomac group, Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises, tweeted, “Want to write off debts? Use Rotomac pens”. Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari and his son Rahul along with two directors of the company have been arrested recently for defaulting on loans to the tune of ~37 billion.