Lalu Prasad always boasts of the 'turnaround' he brought about in the railways, but a parliamentary panel report seeks to prove his claims are a bunch of lies

Here is an easy question: what is it that every rail passenger in India sees at stations, but Union railway minister Lalu Prasad cannot? The answer is: rodents in coaches, unusable toilets, unclean platforms and trains, no drinking water, poor sanitary conditions and dirty kitchens.

A day after he exited office, Somnath Chatterjee bared his heart to the media, saying he almost quit as speaker the day the NDA sent a letter signed by AB Vajpayee accusing him of being biased. "Atalji paid me a visit and talked me out of it. He explained he had not signed the letter voluntarily," Somnath said.

He described his expulsion from the CPI(M) as one of the most painful moments of his life, "The other being the death of my parents."

The parting of ways not withstanding, Somnath continues to assert his communist identity. "I remain a communist. Communism is not the monopoly of a political party," he said.

Top CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu says decision to not support Congress has not been taken

The chances of the Left supporting the Congress-led UPA in case of a hung parliament after the Lok Sabha elections brightened on Friday when nonagenarian CPI(M) leader and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu gave hints to the effect.

Basu did not commit anything but scotched rumours that the CPI(M) had taken an in-principal decision to not support any Congress-led alliance, come what may. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the CPI(M)'s state secretariat meeting here.

At last, it's not the glamorous Hema Malini but a portly 75-year-old local politician, Lalji Tandon, who will step into former PM AB Vajpayee's shoes for the Lok Sabha election in this city of nawabs.  

Lucknowites are disappointed at being denied the opportunity to witness a blockbuster battle between the 'Dream Girl' and Munnabhai Sanjay Dutt, the SP candidate. BJP circles were agog with talk of Hema Malini contesting from Lucknow.

"It's a huge honour for me," Tandon told DNA from Delhi shortly after the BJP formally announced his name for Lucknow on Friday. Sources said while party president Rajnath Singh was not too keen on him, Atal's personal choice weighed heavily in Tandon's favour. Atal has been a Lucknow MP five times since 1991. 

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray called Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar "dhoka yantra" (dangerous instrument) for his unpredictable political moves. But the just launched MNS website (www.manase.org ) heaps praise on Pawar and gives him as much prominence as it gives Bal Thackeray. The MNS website claims that Pawar's qualities are "his ability to endure criticism and his far-sightedness".

The website was launched by Raj Thackeray on Friday at Rang Sharda Hall in Bandra. During a conversation with reporters, Thackeray said, "No one can understand Pawar's political moves. He speaks different things at different places. He is not a hoka yantra (navigation instrument), but a dhoka yantra."

11 others have been transferred in the 2nd round within a month

Ten foresters have been promoted and 11 officials transferred in the second round of movement in the forest department within a month.

The Asiatic lions in Gir have got a new superintendent, Dr Sandeep Kumar, who has been promoted from assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Rajpipla (East), to deputy conservator of forests (DCF), sanctuary superintendent, Sasan. Incumbent IA Chauhan has been transferred.

Six officials have been promoted from DCF to conservator of forests (CF), while three have been promoted from ACF to DCF.