Let?s smile as UP is shining

AMIDST CONTROVERSIES and conflicts there is great news. Vinit was already making waves throughout the country with his melodies voice and mellowed behaviour when the state hit a welcome four in the cricket field. And such overwhelming was the response to it that even Amar Singh?s sensational tapes that had made a discreet entry into news channel offices the same day could not overshadow it. The tapes containing private conversations could not eclipse the heartening news, as it had startled none. Instead contents of the CD, which were less divulged but more discussed, only confirmed what the public had always believed and feared -- that politicians? sagas have more sordid affairs to conceal, and that is true cutting across party and regional lines.

AMIDST CONTROVERSIES and conflicts there is great news. Vinit was already making waves throughout the country with his melodies voice and mellowed behaviour when the state hit a welcome four in the cricket field. And such overwhelming was the response to it that even Amar Singh’s sensational tapes that had made a discreet entry into news channel offices the same day could not overshadow it. The tapes containing private conversations could not eclipse the heartening news, as it had startled none. Instead contents of the CD, which were less divulged but more discussed, only confirmed what the public had always believed and feared -- that politicians’ sagas have more sordid affairs to conceal, and that is true cutting across party and regional lines.

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So all the more reasons for celebrations as the selection of four from UP kicked up neither any controversy nor any row, simply because they played their way into the team from the front door. Remember when Gyanendra Pandey was selected in the team. There were several stories on the political backing that he enjoyed being from the Prime Minister’s constituency. It was proved also with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s letter to the HRD Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi getting leaked. Vajpayee, in his humble way, had suggested Gyanendra’s selection as he hailed from his Lok Sabha constituency, Lucknow.

Sadly, Gyanendra lost out after playing just two matches, making many believe that push helped him more than his play on the field. But this time round there has neither been any politics nor any controversy. May be, because UP has proved its talent by annexing the Ranji Trophy.

So let the ministers be involved in drug trafficking, let the ministers take law into their hands by offering reward of Rs 51 crores for cartoonist’s head for caricaturing Prophet Mohammad, let the Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan grab land in Rampur and claim to be the most honest politician in Uttar Pradesh, there is still reason to smile. What if Vinit lost out to Debojit, he made UP proud! And so would the four cricket players -- Mohd Kaif, Suresh Rana , Rudra Pratap Singh and Piyush Chawla -- when they would play the first cricket Test against England in Nagpur from March 1. Coming from middle class families, cricket is their passion and they all want to exploit the golden opportunity that they have got now.

So let Mulayam worry about his government’s health, let BSP rebels fret over their membership, let Congress face anxious moments.

They want to get rid of Mulayam before the assembly elections and February 28 is their last hope as they know with Left as an ally it won’t be easy to dismiss his government here, irrespective of their so-called support to it. Whatever it is, they have enjoyed the power and it is once again they who would lose it. What has public got – three hours power cut when the summers have not set in. What happened to umpteen promises of uninterrupted power supply, the mega projects? Again they would enter the election arena on their promise of power, which transforms into political power once they occupy the chair.

The judgment day is round the corner; it may or may not go against the ruling coalition. Even if the verdict went against Mulayam, the government may still survive till Choudhary Ajit Singh stayed with him, But news is that Choudhary is hobnobbing with Congress, demanding two berths in the Union cabinet. But he is not willing to cross the bridge now and why should he when he is having the better of the two worlds -- UP and Centre. So let them burn the midnight oil, as they are the ones groping in the dark. For us its time to smile as UP is indeed shining.

So let’s smile till UP shines.