NEWS

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wished speedy recovery to his arch rival Lalu Prasad, who has been admitted in AIIMS, New Delhi following marked deterioration in health and with whom he has shared a love-hate relationship for close to five decades.

The JD(U) de facto leader also rued the fact that he now had to remain content with news about the ailing RJD supremo gathered from newspapers since his telephonic enquiries about the latter's health in the recent past had triggered a controversy.

"It is my fervent wish that he gets well as soon as possible", Kumar told reporters when asked about Prasad whom he had dethroned in 2005, less than two decades after having supported his ascent in the states politics.

Signalling a second wave, 13 Indian states have reported bird flu outbreaks till Friday affecting poultry birds, crows, migratory birds and wild birds.

The outbreak, gripping the length of the country, has been detected in 13 states - Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

While the flu in poultry birds has been reported from nine states - Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, 12 states have reported the outbreak in crow, migratory birds and wild birds.

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly election, the state's talking heads are creating waves. One such politician is the DMK youth wing secretary, Udhayanidhi Stalin. The AIADMK and the BJP have observed him closely and made him a centre point for many political debates. But the fact that he is the talking point seems to have escalated his political status, his supporters and political observers feel.

Udhayanidhi is the 43-year-old eldest son of opposition DMK chief MK Stalin. Udhayanidhi started as a film producer for the movie "Kuruvi" in 2008. He continued to produce some successful movies before taking a plunge as the lead in the 2012 movie "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi". Film critics had observed that he neatly portrayed the boy next door. Soon, his movies focussing on humour clicked. One of his close aides told India Today, "We know how the movie industry is. You can be anyone's son. But the people have to accept. So his movies clicked because people were able to relate to him."

Months ahead of the state assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) expelled its MLA Baishali Dalmiya for "anti-party activities" on Friday. Baishali Dalmiya represents the Bally assembly constituency in West Bengal.

The decision to expel her from the party was taken at TMC's disciplinary committee.

Speaking to media after her expulsion, Baishali Dalmiya said, "Instead of acting against termites within the party, the TMC leadership is acting against honest people."

She said she won't quit from the post of MLA and also didn't rule out the possibility of joining the BJP.