Patna,(BiharTimes): As the state government has reportedly sent its reply to the governor Keshri Nath Tripathi about law and order situation in the state independent political observers are surprised over the hurried manner in which Raj Bhawan has acted.

“How can the governor, sitting in Kolkata, (Bihar has no full-fledged governor of its own) on January 23 itself seek report on––among other things––the blast in Ara court, when the incident took place on the same day. Normally Raj Bhawan does not act so quickly,” said a political commentator on the condition of anonymity.

He further said that the governor’s letter gave more emphasis on the abduction of a boy (Bharatendu Kumar) and subsequent recovery of his body than on the killing of four Muslims and large scale destruction of their property. It had also asked as to why FIR had been lodged against thousands of unnamed persons.

What is more surprising is that the governor’s letter came at the time when the state BJP leaders are busy praising chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and singling out former chief minister Nitish Kumar for their criticism.Analysts are of the view that Tripathi is a former BJP politician, therefore, his action certainly had the green signal from the top. It seems that the BJP has adopted the carrot and stick policy towards Jitan Ram Manjhi. This is the best way to put pressure on him.As it is election year in Bihar the BJP may like to appoint a pro-active full-fledged governor here so that it can tighten screw on the state government.

The BJP-led government has a history of using the office of Raj Bhawan for its own end. During the Vajpayee era it made a couple of attempts to impose President’s rule in Bihar. In Feb 1999 it sacked the then Rabri Devi government after massacres of Dalits at the hands of Ranvir Sena at Shankarbigha and Narayanpur villages in Jehanabad district. But the attempt failed as the Congress refused to support the
then government in Rajya Sabha over the imposition of President’s Rule. On March 8 the same year the Rabri Devi government was reinstated.

Again after the Feb-March 2000 Assembly election the Raj Bhawan invited Nitish Kumar first to form the government than Rabri Devi though both the NDA and RJD won equal number of seats. Nitish failed to secure majority on the floor of the house and had to resign on March 11, 2000.It is for the first time in so many years that the governor has sought report on law and order with so much alacrity.

The Raj Bhawan did not move so fast even during the large scale violence after the killing of the founder of Ranvir Sena, Brahmeshwar Singh, alias Mukhiaji on June 1, 2012. Anyway the governor’s letter has given an opportunity to leaders of different political parties to interprete it differently.