The Congress in Bihar, still struggling hard to revive itself, got enmeshed in fresh acrimony on Friday after its candidate who lost the recent Assembly bypoll to the JD(U) wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi complaining about the party’s senior leaders working against him to cause his defeat.
Soon after the letter written by Kalika Sharan Singh, who lost to JD(U) debutant Kavita Singh in the bypoll for Daraunda Assembly seat, to the Congress boss got leaked to the media, there was a flurry of consultations and issuing of statement by the party’s Bihar unit leaders. Mr Singh had lost miserably by securing only 4,238 votes in a constituency of 2.26 lakh eligible voters.

***
Diggy: Rahul should play a bigger role
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, Nov. 4

Amid speculation that Rahul Gandhi may be appointed working president of Congress very soon, party general secretary Digvijay Singh on Friday suggested that the young leader should now play a bigger role.
“Rahul has to come in the mainstream. Right now, he is looking only after youth Congress and the student wing of the party. I feel now he has to look after us all,” Mr Singh told reporters when asked about the speculation in the media.
Mr Singh is the AICC in-charge of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh where Mr Rahul Gandhi is trying hard to revive the party.

***
TN Cabinet reshuffle: 6 ministers dropped
Age correspondent
chennai, NOV. 4

The AIADMK’s third-in-command and long-time loyalist K.A. Sengottaiyan lost his significance in the ministry after chief minister J. Jayalalithaa shuffled her Cabinet on Friday. The reshuffle also saw six ministers dropped and the same number of new faces inducted.
Portfolios of five other ministers were also changed. Party strongman Sengottaiyan lost agriculture for the low-profile IT department. IT minister R.B. Udayakumar, currently touring coastal Ramanathapuram district for flood prevention and rehabilitation measures, lost his job. Six ministers, Udumalpet C. Shanmugavelu, S.P. Shanmu-ganathan, G. Senthamizhan, Budhichandran, N.R. Sivapathi and Udayakumar, were axed largely for non-performance.

***
Digvijay heckled by BJP workers over petrol hike
Age correspondent
LUCKNOW, NOV. 4

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh was heckled by BJP workers, protesting against the hike in petrol prices, at the Mughalsarai railway station on Friday.
Mr Singh, who had arrived from Ghazipur, was waiting to board the Rajdhani Express for New Delhi at Mughalsarai railway station when the incident took place.
According to reports, tempers ran high as BJP workers, carrying black flags, clashed with Congress activists as they tried to enter the waiting room at the station, where Mr Singh was sitting.

***
HC stays Jaya’s move to shift library
Age correspondent
chennai, NOV. 4

The Madras high court on Friday stayed the decision of the state government to shift Anna Centenary Library from Kotturpuram to DPI campus in Nungambakkam.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam said, “Advocate general A. Navaneetha-krishnan submitted that the government is not going to shift the Anna Centenary Library immediately, but only after the construction of Integrated Knowledge Park at DPI campus is completed. We shall consider the issue as to whether shifting of the present library by the government is justified or not.
The advocate general is directed to file counter affidavit.

***
SC refuses jaya plea on court appearance
Age correspondent
new dlehi, NOV. 4

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s petition for exempting her from further personal appearance before the special judge in Bengaluru in a disproportionate assets case to record her unfinished final statement.
However, a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra deferred her appearance from November 8 to some other date to be fixed by the trial judge after an application is filed by Ms Jayalalithaa to seek a suitable date. While rejecting her plea for exemption, the bench said “we can’t set up a wrong precedent” as personal appearance of an accused for recording final statement under section 313 of CrPC is a mandatory provision of the law.