Kamal Nath leaving no stone unturned to win big in upcoming MP by-elections

His strategies have played a major role in the return of two of Jyotiraditya Scindia's closest aides to Congress

Duel over pharma park

The location of a proposed mega pharma park in Uttar Pradesh has become a point of dispute between two factions in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. While one camp is pushing for it to come up either in the Bundelkhand region or Pilibhit district, the other wants it in Lucknow. In fact, a proposal for developing the park, along with the details of the land identified in Bundelkhand and Pilibhit, has been sent to the Centre. However, the other faction insists the project be located in the state capital to leverage the presence of top scientific institutions there, apart from the availability of suitable land. UP Drug Manufacturers’ Association President Prashant Bhatiya, son of Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatiya, has now submitted a representation to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department Principal Secretary Navneet Sehgal in this regard. Sales of medicines in UP are worth over Rs 40,000 crore annually.

U’khand govt vs High Court

Former chief ministers (CMs) of Uttarakhand owe the state government Rs 20 crore, the Uttarakhand High Court has ruled. The reason: They had been occupying official bungalows and enjoying other services even after relinquishing office. This is the latest chapter in the fight between the court and the government. The court had, last year, asked the government to recover from the former CMs house rent at market rates and also demand payment for providing office staff, security, and cars. To get around the order, the government then brought in the Uttarakhand Former Chief Minister Facility Bill, which was passed in the Assembly and notified as an Act earlier this year after the governor’s assent. The court on Tuesday termed the Act beyond the state’s legal authority. Over to the government...

Returning to the fold

Former chief minister Kamal Nath, who is also Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief, is leaving no stone unturned to win as many seats as possible for the party in the upcoming by-elections to 24 Assembly seats. His strategies have played a major role in the return of two of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s closest aides, Balendu Shukla and Satyendra Yadav, to the party. The two leaders, along with Scindia, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in March. Shukla was close to Jyotiraditya’s father, Madhavrao Scindia, and Yadav is a staunch supporter of Jyotiraditya. Yadav has apparently hinted that Scindia is “feeling suffocated” in the BJP. Not that the BJP is taking it easy. It has formed a 22-member “election management committee”, besides a 16-member “election resource committee”, for the bypolls.