E-Paper
Three recent decisions by Nitish Kumar may turn Bihar's fate in 2024
Three political developments in Bihar in the past fortnight alone have the potential to play a big role. What are they? HT explains
Prefer HTon Google
PATNA: Three political developments in Bihar in the past fortnight alone have the potential to play big in the 2024 general elections as both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Grand Alliance (GA) take measured steps to prepare for the crucial fight.
One, earlier this month following the Motihari hooch tragedy in which 30 persons died after consuming spurious liquor, Nitish Kumar finally relented and agreed to pay compensation to the kin of victims of hooch tragedies. Last year, during the winter session of the state legislature, Kumar had slammed the opposition BJP that had demanded compensation to the kin of victims. The prohibition law may emerge as a stumbling block within the GA allies, and the chief minister’s change of heart is likely to make a difference.
Two, on April 10, the Nitish Kumar government amended the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, removing the “murder of a public servant on duty” clause from the list of cases for which remission of jail term cannot be considered. Days later, the state notified the release of 27 prisoners. The list included Anand Mohan Singh, a Rajput leader with considerable influence on his caste voters, who is serving a life sentence since 2007 in a case involving the murder of Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah in 1994. The BJP has targeted the CM for "leaning on a criminal syndicate."
Taking a cue from this amendment, the BJP is also demanding general amnesty to those booked under the prohibition law. Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi said most of those in jail under prohibition law were poor, while the mafia escaped.
Three, the Nitish cabinet decided to give government employee status to teachers appointed henceforth through the Bihar Public Service Commission. Earlier, starting 2006, the appointments took place through Panchayati Raj Institutions, which the RJD opposed. The new appointment policy has riled up the existing 400,000 employed school teachers who lost a protracted legal battle with the state government in the top court, as they sought the status of government employees. Both the BJP and government ally CPI (Marxist Leninist-Liberation) have come out in support of the teachers. Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Singh has also assured support to the teachers.
Political analyst and former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies DM Diwakar said that all three decisions seem to have been made with the impending polls in mind, and reflect the stamp of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is gradually and quietly asserting itself, while Nitish Kumar has grown more accommodating.
“Nitish Kumar has been made to realise that there can be no defence to continued deaths due to hooch tragedies and he cannot get away with blaming the victims for long. His Grand Alliance (GA) partners, including the RJD and Congress, have also been consistently raising the demand for a review, which the CM had earlier dismissed. This decision means he has started feeling the pressure,” he said.
Social analyst and retired Patna University professor NK Choudhary also agreed that the shift in Nitish Kumar’s stand was a clear indication of the RJD’s growing assertiveness in the alliance.
“The RJD wanted a review of liquor policy. So did the Congress and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM. It is an indication of Nitish’s big shift. An amendment in the prison law is a big climb down for a leader who always maintained that he would make no compromise when it comes to crime. However, this could lead to internal churning in a state known for stark caste divides,” he said.
“Nitish Kumar is known to be a master of social engineering and by working in tandem with the RJD he is trying to bridge the gaps that the BJP could make use of. No party could afford to upset the Rajput community and therefore, all of them are silent on this,” Diwakar added, referring to the amendment in prison rules that permitted the remission of Singh’s life sentence. Singh, now 75, is expected to walk out of jail soon.
“Even a complete rollback of prohibition at some stage before elections does not look improbable now,” Choudhary said.
However, according to Choudhary, it is the decision pertaining to education that may pose the biggest challenge for the CM, as incentives alone cannot bring about change.
“Good quality teaching is a long-time need in the state, and the government has not been able to fulfil it in either the school or higher education level. In fact, earlier Nitish had brushed aside Tejashwi’s promise of two million jobs as unrealistic, but now he is backing it. RJD had made poll promises for jobs and this decision on teacher recruitment could give it an advantage. Perhaps, that is why it sought the education department portfolio,” he said.
The RJD had announced that steps would be taken to improve the quality of education and that appointments would be made in a centralised way. In the past, the RJD had criticised appointing teachers through PRIs without an examination, while constables and clerks are appointed through competition.
