Gaya road rage: Guilty legislators won't let Nitish end Jungle Raj

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken painstaking efforts to emerge as a votary of good governance with his development politics in the past decade, but his legislators these days are doing everything to spoil his well-cultivated image.

The killing of a 19-year-old youth allegedly by the son of the ruling Janata Dal (United) legislator in Gaya is not a routine incident of road rage. It reflects the mindset of the people wielding political clout in the state.

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Rocky Yadav, son of JD(U) MLC Manorama Devi, allegedly shot dead the son of a businessman after being peeved at his bid to overtake his vehicle on May 7. An armed bodyguard of his legislator-mother, who was by Rocky's side, apparently did not do anything to prevent him from committing the crime. According to SSP Garima Mallik, Yadav was arrested early morning of May 10, had admitted to gunning down Aditya Sachdeva. 

In a sudden twist of events, as per TV reports, Yadav has now said he didn't kill the teenager. Moreover, he says he was in Delhi the day the incident occurred.

The murder has sparked shock and outrage across Bihar, causing embarrassment to Nitish Kumar, who is heading a three-party coalition government on an agenda of sushasan (good governance) and justice for all.

Ever since the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress came to power with brute majority in the state Assembly elections in November last year, Nitish has taken landmark decisions such as enforcement of prohibition and 35 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs to fulfil the promises he had made to the electorate in the run-up to the polls.

However, some legislators of his alliance seem hell-bent on undoing his good work. They have brought disrepute to the government at regular intervals with their alleged involvement in criminal cases in the past few months.

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It all began with the molestation of a woman passenger, allegedly by JD(U) MLA Sarfaraz Alam on a train in January this year. Later, RJD legislator Raj Ballabh Yadav was charged with rape of a minor girl, while another JD(U) legislator Bima Bharti allegedly helped her husband Awadhesh Mandal escape from the police custody.

Other MLAs of the ruling alliance such as Gopal Mandal, Vinay Verma and Rana Gangeshwar have also courted controversies with their improper remarks or conduct in recent days.

The controversial acts of these legislators have provided the opposition enough ammunition to fire at the Nitish government. Accusing the chief minister of having no control over "lawbreakers" from the ruling alliance, its leaders have already started predicting the return of the Jungle Raj (lawless regime) in Bihar.

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The Grand Alliance, of course, has been at pains to assert that the state government brooks no nonsense from any of its lawmakers found guilty of breaking the law.

It has also taken prompt action against the erring legislators to underline the fact that nobody, howsoever powerful, enjoys immunity from law in Bihar. Still, the crime committed by its legislators or their kin has emerged as a big challenge to the government.

What Nitish needs to do now is stay firm in his resolve to let the law take its course, regardless of the political affiliation of any wrongdoer. That is the only way to reassure the people that his government has not slacked on the law-and-order front in its present term.

Also, he must drive home an unambiguous message to all the legislators that they should not expect any leniency if their involvement in any breach of law is proven.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)