Despite the change of regime, Bihar’s law and order situation continues to be grim, with no decrease in the number of routine kidnappings, murders and dacoity. There is no doubt that only a serious effort can have give hope to the people that the situation is on the mend. I think Chief Minister Nitish Kumar needs to take bold steps to curb crime. Bihar needs a ruthless and strong director general of police who is given a free hand, like that given to K.P.S. Gill by former Punjab CM Beant Singh.Secondly, and more importantly, the state’s entire police structure needs a complete overhaul. Wielding lathis in their effort to assert authority, Bihar’s frail policemen inspire a feeling of pity rather than awe. Their uniforms are worn out and their vehicles clearly betray the fact that the police force is facing a severe resource crunch. If a beginning has to be made somewhere, Nitish must begin with generous investment in the state’s police machinery.Bihar’s challenge is of course much larger. Years of economic decline with little industrial investment have created an ever widening pool of unemployed persons. Crime is for them the only option to stay alive, as there are few legal ways of earning money. It is now unfortunately a Catch-22 situation: all efforts to lure industry to Bihar are proving unfruitful because industrialists are afraid to set up businesses amidst such a high crime rate. Bihar’s biggest growth story has been its rising population and the number of its job seekers.House arrestNotices to vacate government bungalows to those who are no longer entitled to them are unnecessarily warranting a lot of hue and cry. On the one hand, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy is vehemently denying having unlawfully evicted Mulayam Singh Yadav from his bungalow in Delhi, and on the other, Mulayam Singh is charging the Congress for unduly harassing him. I don’t know how the question of harassment arises when the government is simply executing an order of the Supreme Court. The order itself had convincingly argued that those with a constituency outside Delhi should not be entitled to government bungalows in Delhi, as there is already a shortage of houses in the Lutyen’s zone to accommodate even those who are entitled to them. Many ministers are still waiting for bungalows befitting their entitlement. If the court had not enforced eviction by undeserving occupants, no accommodation would have been vacated.When Buta Singh had to vacate his house, he went away quietly. Rabri Devi is also quietly preparing for her move from the CM’s bungalow in Patna. Upon becoming chief ministers, several leaders had vacated their houses peacefully without cribbing about it at press conferences. Vasundhara Raje, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Raman Singh, all had government houses in Delhi but they saw no sense in occupying them. One wonders why the UP CM has kept paying a rent of Rs 2 lakh per month to keep possession of his bungalow. I would definitely support the demand of a senior MP like Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav to be given a Type VII bungalow, but how can chief ministers of states be allowed to retain Type VIII bungalows for years together?Reaching for the moon, slowlySeveral years after it was first announced, India’s mission to the moon is moving at a snail’s pace. While one keeps hearing of a 2008 launch, neither Parliament nor the media is aware of the present status of the mission. NASA has also given certain responsibilities to the Indian mission as they have not sent a mission to the moon in a long time. A successful mission will be a major achievement and a showcase for India’s technological prowess. However, if we keep delaying, China will certainly leap ahead.The author is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha
