Convince President to dismiss Rabri Devi govt: Mishra

Bihar Jana Congress president Jagannath Mishra today urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to reconsider the Bihar issue and convince the President afresh of the need for taking action under Article 356 of the Constitution against the Rabri Devi Government.

Mishra, who met the Prime Minister here, drew his attention to the numerous observations and strictures by the Patna High Court which, he said, amply indicated that there was complete collapse of the constitutional machinery in the state.The former Chief Minister cited a Patna High Court judgement of October 15, 1998 which had observed that court orders were being routinely flouted by a wayward executive. The state government was facing more than 1,200 contempt of court cases for its failure to implement judicial orders, Mishra told the Prime Minister.

He said a division bench of the Patna High Court, in a judgement on July 17, 1998, had observed that no government worth its name existed in Bihar. It further said that the state government was notin a position to discharge its duties and the people were therefore forced to live in a “jungle raj”. The Prime Minister reportedly gave Mishra a patient hearing during the half-an-hour meeting and assured him of reconsidering the matter.