Enemies and friends

Two days after cruising through the confidence vote, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is faced with a strange predicament. Lalu Prasad Yadav, chief of its ally, Rashtriya Janata Dal, was found praising Kumar's one-time protege-turned-foe Jitan Ram Manjhi. Lalu said: "Manjhi is a good man, with wisdom. I have also supported him in the past." Interestingly, Lalu praised Manjhi the same day the latter launched a bitter attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for bringing about his government's downfall, saying he could have mobilised the required number of MLAs had the BJP extended support in advance.