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Journalism of Courage
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Friday visited the paternal village of former MP Anand Mohan to inaugurate the statues of Mohan’s grandfather Ram Bahadur Singh and his uncle Padmanand Singh, both freedom fighters. Nitish was upset, he said, after Mohan was convicted in the murder of Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiya, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
But he was “happy now that Mohan is free” and that he has done his bit for the former MP of Sheohar, hinting at the state government’s decision to grant Mohan remission by relaxing the prison manual. Mohan was released this April. “Ye jo jail me rahe hum logon ko shuru se kharab lag raha tha… Hum logon se jo sambhav tha… Ab inko mukti mil gayi hum logon khush hai.. (We felt bad when Mohan was jailed. We did whatever we could. I am happy he is free now)”.
Speaking at Pachgachhia village of Saharsa, Kumar recalled his camaraderie with Mohan since 1994. “Maalum hai na hum logon ka pahle dosti kaisa tha. Purana rishta hai (one must know the kind of warmth we shared initially… We have old ties),” he said, and pointed out he had also supported the candidature of Mohan’s wife, Lovely Anand in Vaishali bypolls, which she had won. Mohan shared the dais with the chief minister and later posed with him for the shutterbugs in front of his grandfather’s statue. This is the second time after the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign that Kumar visited Mohan’s paternal village.
Kumar trying to strengthen his ties with the controversial former MP has political significance. Mohan was the first upper caste leader to criticise RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha for “targeting Rajputs by reciting ‘Thakur Ka Kuan’ poem during a speech in Parliament during the Women’s Quota Bill debate”.
A senior JD(U) leader said: “We have always reached out to the upper caste, OBCs and SCs alike. Mohan is certainly an important upper caste Rajput leader with his own following. Though we have nothing to say on Mohan’s reactions on the RJD MP’s recital of the poem, we want to do politics of inclusivity. This is where Mohan becomes very important for us despite the controversies.”
Also, with the caste survey report “sending confusing signals among the upper castes”, it becomes more important for Kumar to keep Mohan in good humour. “The caste survey showed EBCs and OBCs as the biggest social bloc with 63 per cent population, There are also murmurs among Hindu upper castes about their dwindling numbers (from 15.4 per cent in the 1931 census to 10.4 per cent in Bihar caste survey). Hence, it is more of a balancing act and not antagonising the upper caste leaders,” said the JD(U) leader.
Kumar’s Mahagathbandhan ally RJD, however, is treading cautiously regarding the Mohan episode. An RJD leader said: “Mohan’s son Chetan Anand is an RJD MLA. Anand Mohan’s political affiliation is not very clear. There is nothing wrong in the CM meeting Mohan. We too talk about inclusive politics. But we are wary of some backlash after the caste survey report.”
