Trust Bihar for “caste politics” and the men in khadi here will not let you down. The state might be worried about the “missing kids and businessman”, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is apparently not. NDA’s victory in the state assembly elections late last year was not a miracle that had happened in a day but an outburst of the sentiments of people that had been simmering within them for over a decade.

No sincere person will ever accept caste politics and not development can help a nation, or for that matter a state. Mr Lalu Prasad and Ms Rabri Devi had erred on this account several times but Mr Nitish Kumar is still erring.

For a man who has spoken lot about need to shelve the theory of “caste politics”, his commitments for development are largely turning out to be political rhetoric.

Given what had been the priorities of Mr Nitish Kumar in the last two months, I might not be wrong in saying his government is the same “old wine in a new bottle”.

Bihar Chief Minister is meeting people of the Muslim community at a “conference” organized by his party in Patna today to discuss their problem. At the meet, Mr Nitish Kumar will sweat it out to understand the hardships faced by community members and how can his government solve them. The recent announcement of the NDA government to bring out a white paper on Bhagalpur riots of 1989 wherein hundreds of Muslims had been killed is also a part of its “appease minority” policy.

This not the first instance within a short span of two months when Mr Nitish Kumar has tried to strike at the roots of his political rivals. Just a week back, his cabinet decided to provide reservation to the Extremely Backward Class people in Panchayat Polls.

The question is how far reservations on the basis of caste and religions will help Bihar that is “calling” everybody to take it out from the state of utter despair? Mr Nitish Kumar will surely have no words to speak out, when he himself is talking goody-goody about globalization, foreign investment, industrialization…. and many more. Are the Muslims and EBCs only facing hardship in a State, whose leaders have always talked about their welfare for years? They can be just one among all who have been promised moon but cheated at last. Political observes say Mr Nitish Kumar, who is sharing powers with the BJP, which is not that much accepted among the Muslims and the EBCs, might be trying to send positive message to the community members and also to brush up his “secular” image at regular intervals.

Political rivalry never helps. Muslims and the EBCs have been the traditional followers of Mr Lalu Prasad and his party and the NDA is apparently worried, and interested, more about cutting the roots of Mr Lalu Prasad and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan in Bihar. There is nothing wrong in saying say at least after two months of the NDA government in power the “ray of hope” Bihar people had seen in Mr Nitish Kumar has faded.

Two months is very less time to expect results, but it is enough to indicate what is in store. Don’t you feel it would have been better for Bihar if its rulers had concentrated on issues like development and law and order than just drawing maximum mileage out of caste politics?

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Comments...

It is like claiming to have read the whole book by glancing at the cover page. Never saw an article about the misrule of 20 years. Honestly, isn’t it too early to pose a question? However, I would encourage the journalists to keep the government on its toes by applying open checks on its policies and decisions. Thanks
Ambuj Kumar
drambuj@hotmail.com

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