'People of Bihar are living in terror'

'Since the RJD came to power, criminals have stopped fearing the law.'

Bihar has witnessed four shocking murders in recent days.

On December 26, two engineers working on a road construction project in Darbhanga were murdered.

On the heels of those murders, another engineer was found dead in Vaishali district.

On Monday, December 28, night, panic gripped Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district after the supervisor at a construction company was shot dead while returning home.

On Tuesday, December 29, evening, an engineering student was kidnapped and a ransom of Rs 500,000 was demanded.

The spate of murders and kidnapping has given rise to concerns that the infamous 'Jungle Raj,' from the days when Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi were chief ministers, have returned to Bihar.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Sushil Kumar Modi, the state's former deputy chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, to discuss the disturbing law and order situation.
Has 'Jungle Raj' returned to Bihar?

I would not like to say that. But I will appeal to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that he control law and order. He is conducting meetings to improve the situation, but there is no actual effect. The results are not seen on the ground.

Incidents are happening non-stop and the people of Bihar are living in terror. The image of Bihar is being tarnished all over India.

What is happening on the ground?

It is a cause for worry. The chief minister should take the right steps to stop these things. He should be worried why the law and order situation is deteriorating. We would like to give the government some more time though.

Do you think criminals are not afraid of the law after the RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and its allies came to power?

Since the RJD came into power with big numbers, criminals have stopped fearing the law.

The government has a certain kind of authority over law and order, but that seems to have diminished ever since the new government came to power.

It is cause for worry. The government must intervene on an urgent basis to stop these crimes or else the people of Bihar will lose their faith in the government.

Even kidnappings have started.

We are warning the government at this moment that we will not take it lying down if the situation does not improve. The situation is going out of hand day by day. I will reply only in guarded words at this moment.

Do you think your election campaign, which was focused on development and the fear of 'Jungle Raj', didn't appeal to the people of Bihar?

People believed in Lalu and voted for him. People were misguided. The caste alliance won vis-a-vis development. This was not a win for development, but for the caste alliance.

I don't want to comment more on this issue because it has only been a month since Nitish Kumar and the government have taken the oath of office. I would to give them some more time.