The turmoil in the Bihar bureaucracy with Chief Secretary G S Kang proceeding on ‘‘protest leave’’ against the controversial transfer of 17 IPS officers has provided the perfect opportunity to the BJP-led NDA to re-establish its credentials as an opposition force and fuel its anti-RJD, anti-UPA campaign ahead of the Assembly elections later this year.NDA leaders met this morning and decided to take up the Bihar issue in a big way both inside and outside Parliament. A delegation of BJP and JD(U) leaders called on President Abdul Kalam Azad this evening ‘‘to apprise him’’ of the developments in the state and demand the recall of governor Buta SIngh before the assembly polls.The BJP also issued a whip to all party MPs to be present for the discussion on Bihar in Lok Sabha tomorrow. The discussion, under Rule 184, will demand the end of President’s Rule and revival of the state assembly, BJP spokesman V K Malhotra said.Since the government’s motion seeking extension of President’s Rule for another six months is also likely to come up tomorrow, the Opposition-sponsored discussion and the government motion are likely to be clubbed together.Addressing the media at Parliament House, BJP state president Sushil Modi alleged that Buta Singh had become ‘‘a puppet in the hands of Laloo Prasad Yadav’’ and the transfers of IPS officers—including Siwan SP Ratn Sanjay who had cracked down on RJD MP Shahabuddin—had been done with an eye on the coming state elections. Apart from seeking the President’s intervention, NDA leaders would also be meeting the Chief Election Commissioner on Wednesday and ask the Election Commission to take ‘‘cognizance’’ of the situation and cancel the current round of transfers of district police officers, Modi said.
