Pioneer In Short

Tejashwi seeks statue for Ram Vilas

RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav on Friday demanded a life-size statue of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, a day after his son and Union minister Chirag Paswan sought a similar honour for RJD chief Lalu Prasad. In a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Tejashwi also sought state functions on Paswan’s birth and death anniversaries, besides similar honours for former Union ministers Sharad Yadav and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Tejashwi said all leaders who worked for “social emancipation” should be honoured. Paswan and Lalu Prasad had both entered the Lok Sabha in 1977 after participating in the JP-led Bihar movement.

The demand comes amid political differences between the RJD and the BJP-led alliance. Chirag’s praise for Lalu has drawn criticism from BJP leaders, with MLA Neeraj Kumar Singh “Bablu” opposing a statue for the RJD chief, citing his conviction in fodder scam cases. Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), had said Lalu Prasad, his father Ram Vilas Paswan and former chief minister Nitish Kumar had made significant contributions to Bihar’s public life and deserved life-size statues.

Coforge boardroom rift deepens

Coforge’s non-executive independent director and Nomination and Remuneration Committee chair DK Singh has resigned, citing “differences and tension” between independent and executive directors. The IT services company rejected the allegations as “unfounded” and an “afterthought”, saying Singh’s resignation followed an internal audit that flagged governance lapses in a board evaluation exercise involving him and former chairman OP Bhatt. Bhatt stepped down as chairman days earlier after the audit found that evaluation reports, including the lowest rating for the chairman’s performance category, were not shared with other board members.

Bhatt also failed to secure the required 75 per cent approval for his reappointment as independent director at the August 24 AGM, receiving 65.47 per cent of votes. Following Singh’s immediate resignation on Friday, Coforge appointed independent director Beth Boucher as NRC chair. Vivek Sharma will serve as interim chair until January 31, 2027, lead a search for additional independent directors and oversee the election of a new board chair. Singh said the board’s changing composition could make it harder for him to exercise independent judgment. Coforge said the board had otherwise operated with “close cooperation and unanimity” since 2024.