Rediff On The NeT: Thakre finds Bihar's law and order 'very bad'


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June 17, 1998

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Thakre finds Bihar's law and order 'very bad'

Bharatiya Janata Party president Kushabau Thakre today said the law and order situation in Bihar was "very bad", with the Rabri Devi government "failing to contain violence".

Addressing a meet-the-press programme of the Ernakulam Press Club, Thakre, who participated in the two-day state-level BJP workers camp which concluded today, said the Union government should take an appropriate decision considering all aspects.

The Centre would have its own assessment of the situation in Bihar, and if it warranted central intervention only the Rabri Devi government would have to be blamed, he added.

Stating that his party was against the indiscriminate use of Article 356, Thakre said it would endanger the federal polity.

Referring to the President returning the United Front government's recommendation dismissing the Kalyan Singh ministry, Thakre said these checks and balances were to ensure that Article 356 was not misused.

Asked if the Centre would send teams to states like Kerala, where there had been political murders, he said the law and order situation in states ruled by the left parties was not good but the use of Article 356 required more consideration and should be used only under exception circumstances.

Meanwhile, the dawn to dusk bandh sponsored by six left parties in Bihar, in protest against the killing of CPI-M legislator Ajit Sarkar evoked a partial response.

Official sources said no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state.

Strict vigil was maintained in vulnerable pockets, and additional security personnel have been deputed in the sensitive areas.

Railway sources said rail services were not affected due to the bandh, and normal traffic was maintained. Squatting on railway tracks was reported from some sections, but the impact was negligible, sources said. While commercial establishments kept their shutters down in the state capital, vehicular traffic and attendance in banks and government offices was normal.

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, meanwhile, said the readiness of Bihar Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari in describing the law and order situation in Bihar as serious and grim, and the immediate follow-up by Home Minister L K Advani, who rushed a central team to assess the situation, smacks of a 'conspiracy' to impose President's rule in the state.

In a statement, Dr Swamy said the murders of two MLAs in Bihar was a tragedy arising out of 'personal disputes and blood feud' among political rivals and had no constitutional significance whatsoever. Hence it is wholly against the spirit of the Constitution, and against the 1994 judgment of the Supreme Court, to make this an excuse for imposing President's rule in Bihar.

He said this spirit was in contrast with the BJP-led Coalition's reluctance in invoking Article 356 to in Tamil Nadu, and spoke volumes about the 'partisan mentality' of the BJP leadership.

UNI