It is a no-holds-barred tussle in Lucknow with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in an aggressive mood-splitting the Congress and rattling the BJP leaders by slapping POTA on independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya.

Shourie emerges victorious in the disinvestment battle

Her frenetic political moves were clearly intended to consolidate her position before the likely no-confidence motion in the budget session, Mayawati not only fomented a split in the ABCD (Akhil Bhartiya Congress Dal), the breakaway faction of the Congress, but also insisted that the MLAs join the BSP if they wanted a ministerial berth. Four MLAs conceded and became ministers of state with independent charge. But Mayawati wanted more. "The doors of the BSP are still open," the chief minister declared. And at least three more are expected to change sides. To accommodate the newcomers, Mayawati made 13 BSP ministers resign. That means nine berths are still vacant for those wanting to switch sides and join the BSP.

Mayawati proved beyond doubt that she was in command of her party. There was not a single murmur when she asked 13 of her ministers to tender their resignation. With the four new MLAs, the BSP now has 103 members in a house of 403.

The aggressive Mayawati has revised the rules of the game. The ABCD MLAs had planned to retain their independent status and bargain with the Government just as the Loktantrik Congress Party had with the BJP governments. But the Machiavellian chief minister would have none of it. When they showed reluctance in joining the BSP, she withdrew the security provided to the ABCD MLAs. They are in no mood to confront the "behenji". The fate of Raja Bhaiya, who had challenged her might, is an effective disincentive.

The breakaway faction of the Congress has little option. The MLAs might be experienced players in the Uttar Pradesh politics of Aya Ram and Gaya Ram, but in dealing with Mayawati they will have to relearn their ABCD.

-Subhash Mishra

Judicious Clean-Up

The judges have cleared the judges. The three judges of the Karnataka High Court allegedly involved in a Mysore resort sex scandal have been cleared by a panel constituted by the Supreme Court, but the stain on their reputation will take some time to clear.

The inquiry was high-powered enough. It comprised the chief justices of the Bombay High Court and the Kerala High Court and a senior judge of the Orissa High Court. After a two-month probe, the panel found "no evidence" against Justice N. S. Veerabhadraiah, Justice Chandrasekhariah and Justice V. Gopalagowda.

Justice appeared to have been done, thrice over. The only hint of improper conduct lay in the deposition by Vijayanagar Sub-Inspector of Police Cheluva Shetty, whose original diary on the case had introduced the sleaze factor. Others, including Dilip Biddappa, the owner of the resort, and senior policemen, stated no such incident had taken place in the resort and dismissed Shetty's diary notes as "far from the truth". Biddappa, in fact, hinted at a conspiracy to taint his resort's image. What's more relevant is whether it has indelibly tainted the image of the three judges.

-Stephen David

SENTENCED: Uttar Pradesh MLA Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, to a 10-year jail term, by a designated court, under the TADA and Arms Act. He faces several cases of murder and kidnapping in Uttar Pradesh.

DECLARED: Kolkata was not founded by English trader Job Charnock and does not have a birthday, by a panel of historians.

AWARDED: Asif Kapadia, director of The Warrior, the Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer Award, in London.

APPOINTED: D.P. Ojha, IPS officer who allegedly tried to suppress the fodder scam probe, as DGP, Patna.

CONVICTED: Broker Hiten Dalal and three others, for defrauding Canbank Mutual Fund of Rs 103 crore, by a special court.