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Situation tense, but under control in Laloo's home

Akileshwar Singh in Patna

At the official home of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, the atmosphere was, as they say in police briefings, "tense but under control".

The chief minister had just received word that the Centre had recommended imposition of President's rule in the state, and had reacted by summoning an emergency meeting of her cabinet.

The fight was obviously going to be carried out on many fronts -- thus, Rabri Devi directed that the entire cabinet, accompanied by legislators belonging to the RJD, Congress, CPI-M and CPI (Krantikari) took out a protest procession from the assembly to the Raj Bhavan, barely an hour after the Union government's decision was announced.

Once arrived at the venue, the assembled legislators signalled their protest with a three hour long dharna -- never mind that the Raj Bhavan is a protected zone for such protests.

"Rape of the Constitution" was perhaps the most polite of charges made by those who addressed the gathering -- the more militant suggested that Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari should be assaulted with available footwear.

Rather ironically, given that law and order was the issue at stake, Rabri Devi then told the media that if President's rule was imposed on Bihar the state would witness 'bloodbath and large scale violence.'

"The people of the state will never forgive the leaders of the BJP and Samata Party for their active involvement in chopping off the throat of democracy," said Devi, 39, in bellicose vein, while accusing Bhandari of being a stooge of the BJP-SP combine.

Accusations were thrown around like so much confetti. Thus: "The leaders of the BJP and Samata Party plan to buy the legislators by putting the assembly into suspended animation, so they can replace my government, but I will thwart each and every effort to form an alternative government in Bihar."

Descending from the belligerent to the merely bellicose, Devi then questioned Bhandari's machismo, indicating that the governor was the kind of man who could only fight against "a woman like me".

Back to her residence which, after the cabinet ministers had come and gone, wore a deserted look. The only sign of activity within the grounds was the sight of the chief minister's sons playing cricket.

Rabri Devi herself had vanished into the building's interior. "My mother has some urgent work to attend to," the chief minister's daughter number four explained to the media.

Rabri Devi's brother Sadhu Yadav, an MLC in his own right, then appeared on the scene, and brusquely suggested that it was time the mediapersons left. "My didi has important work, please leave her alone, come back later," he said.

A source close to the chief minister later revealed to this correspondent that Rabri Devi was busy signing files of an unspecified nature.

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