Lalu's badbad!

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his political archrival Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav proved that both can never hide their animosity, even on the day they unanimously elected the first woman speaker. While felicitating Meira Kumar, who was elected to the Lok Sabha Speaker's post on Wednesday, Lalu Prasad repeated his often-raised allegation that the NDA government had "neglected" Bihar during its tenure in the past. But an angry Sharad Yadav immediately stood to object to the reference. "Why are you playing politics?" Prasad's response was quick. "Rajniti nahin to kya harivachan karne aya hoon mein?. Although Prasad's snapping evoked laughter among the members from the ruling coalition, the new speaker preferred not to put them on record. Prasad has also warned the Speaker. He started his speech pointing out that all leaders have promised the new Speaker that they would cooperate in smooth running of the House. "But I have my doubts whether these promises will be kept," he said.

Tailpiece: With Meira Kumar, a 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, taking over as the Lok Sabha Speaker, both Houses of Indian parliament are now run by former diplomats. Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari is a 1961 batch IFS officer.