In feud between brothers Malvinder and Shivinder, family behind the latter

Taking sides

In the fight between former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh (pictured), the family seems to be firmly behind the younger sibling, Shivinder. The bonhomie among Shivinder and the other members of the family was evident as they sat outside the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court awaiting the order copy, and spoke to each other for a good half an hour before Shivinder was taken away by policemen. During the same waiting period, Malvinder sat alone for the most part, only to be joined by his advocates and a couple of other people intermittently. It might be too early to draw a conclusion, but it seems the family has made its position clear as to whom it would stand by in this bitter fight.

Babbar’s parting shot

Outgoing Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbar bade adieu to the state unit with a sharp-witted letter to his successor and party MLA, Ajay Kumar Lallu. Babbar conceded that despite sincere efforts during his rather lacklustre three-year term, he fell short when it came to delivering results. The actor-turned-politician also took a swipe at the party’s top leadership, noting that at times his own decisions or some of the decisions of his seniors failed miserably to get support within the party. Also, some of his decisions aimed at promoting young leaders in the party and harnessing the experience of senior Congressmen did not go down well with a certain section of the state leaders, he added.

Protecting cows

After Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said last week that stray cows on the Bhopal-Indore highway led to accidents, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said his government had set a target of constructing 3,000 cow shelters by the end of next year. Nath tweeted: “Dear Digjiyaya-ji, you mentioned about the accident of cows sitting on Bhopal-Indore highway. I have asked officials to make a plan about the security of cows on main roads.” He added that his concern for cows was genuine and not motivated by politics. “I am concerned about it ... It is also true that for us, cows are a symbol of faith and pride and not for politics. We want to do the work which has not been done in years to protect cows.”