Patna: Uproarious scenes were witnessed in both the houses of the Bihar Legislature over alleged beating of woman in the Kankarbagh police station area by City Superintendent of police Ms.  Kim on Monday evening.  Ms Kim allegedly slapped the woman, who was protesting the beating of her son over  protest of police’s ruthless action in a case by the residents of the People’s Cooperative Colony, just near the house of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s father-in-law as well as near the park in the name of Nitish Kumar’s late wife in the area. After Ms Kim slapped the woman, the woman also retaliated in anger and she also slapped the city SP. Massive protest was witnessed on Monday evening in the entire Kankarbagh area over the unseemly behavior of the City Superintendent of police.

The matter was raised in both the houses of the Bihar legislature by legislators, cutting across the party-line on Tuesday. Anti-government slogans were shouted mainly by opposition members in both the Assembly and Council. Normal transaction of business remained suspended in both the houses. RJD leader Raghvendra Pratap Singh in the Assembly and his counterpart in Council Nawal Kishore Yadav have taken lead in raising the issue in both the houses. Almost all the opposition members were seen on their feet in both the houses and demanded not only transfer of Kim but also punishment to her. Despite repeated efforts of the chair, scheduled business remained suspended in both the houses.

BJP legislator Rameshwar Prasad and many NDA members also joined opposition over the issue. Rameshwar Prasad told the house that police was for giving security and protection to people not to assault or torture them. Many of the NDA members joined Prasad in protesting the government’s inaction over the issue.

Later Nitish Kumar expressed apology for the action of the City Superintendent of police but he refused to take any punitive action against Kim. Similarly, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi also voiced regret over the issue. Modi pointed out that Ms Kim had just joined her first posting in Patna as city SP. She might have committed excesses but she should be excused for her error of judgement, Modi added.

However, calm was restored in both the houses even after opposition continued their protest for not taking action against Kim for her alleged assault to woman.

Patna: Yet another arrest of an alleged second in command of the Indian Mujahideen terrorist group has been made from Darbhanga town. One Mohammad Kafil has been nabbed from Darbhanga town and was taken to Delhi by the Delhi police where he has been remanded to judicial custody by a Delhi court.

According to official sources from Darbhanga district administration, about 80 from here; Mohammad Kafil, who used to teach in a madarasa in Darbhanga town and has also a puncture repair shop in the town, was said to be the second in command after Wasim of the Indian Muzahideen. Kafil was harbourer of youths and used to lure youths in terror activities. He was also a conduit of  various  terror groups in the country. His motivation to youths was bringing tangible result in Darbhanga region to join the terror groups, particularly  Indian Muzahideen.

Arrest has been made by the Delhi police with the cooperation of Darbhanga town police. Arrest of Kafil was in the chain of  over a dozen of alleged terrorists arrests from Darbhanga region alone in the last six months. Many other terrorists’ arrests have been made from Bihar like Nalanda, Purnia, Katihar, Araria, Kishangangj districts in recent past. Darbhanga region is said to be the terrorist hub in Bihar where many youths have joined various terror groups in the country, having direct connection with foreign countries, particularly Pakistan. Many of the arrested terrorists have received training in Pakistan, the official sources added.

However , the family members of Kafil have stated that he was being involved in terrorist groups by the Delhi police. “We are poor people and earning bread for our livelihood,” Kafil’s wife said.

Patna: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Bihar government to reply about the justification of issuing a fresh notification on utilising the Member of Parliament Local  Area Development Fund (MPLAD) in Bihar. Owing to such development crores of funds of MPLAD of all the MPs from the state are not being utilised for the last one year. All MPs are allotted funds from the Union government in crores for utilising them for the development of their respective constituencies.

According to report, reaching from Delhi; the order of the Bihar government on MPs fund had been challenged by the JD(U) rebel Lok Sabha member from Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha seat, Jay Narayan Nishad. The court has taken the matter seriously and directed the Bihar government to reply.

Meanwhile, with this development, MPs, cutting across party-line, have started again attacking the Nitish government for debarring the MPs from utilising their allotted fund for the development of their respective constituencies. Nishad was more vocal in putting the chief minister on the mat for undemocratic and against development approach in utilising MP’s fund. He said that MPs by utilising their fund for the development of their respective constituencies used to spend over Rs. 28 crore yearly in Bihar, which had been stopped by the Nitish government for the development of the state and on the other hand Nitish Kumar presses for more and more central assistance for the development of the state.

The BJP state unit president Dr C P Thakur, who is also Rajya Sabha member from Bihar and from very beginning critical to the approach and attitude of the Nitish government towards crores of MPs fund for the state, said that now the matter has taken a new dimension in the Supreme Court. Dr Thaklur, however, advised the Nitish government to thrash out the issue on consensus approach so that crores of funds of MPs may be utilised for the development of the state. RJD member of the Rajya Sabha Ram Kripal Yadav also opposed the notification of Nitish government on MPs fund and termed the Nitish government as government to “bring the state towards dark days of backwardness.

Patna: In an unprecedented development, for the first time in the Bihar Legislature, the Governor of Bihar Devanand Kunwar on Tuesday engaged himself in a bitter verbal duel with the opposition members while delivering his speech to the joint session of both the houses of the Legislature. The Governor pulled up the opposition members and advised them to maintain silence in stern terms but recalcitrant opposition leaders continued to shout him down and terming his joint address to the Legislature as “bundle of lies”.

The situation became so tense that opposition leaders, while shouting anti-governor and anti -Nitish Kumar government slogans, demanded the dismissal of the governor for not only misbehaving with the opposition members but also his warning to silence them amid noisy scenes in the Legislature. Opposition leaders termed the incident and behaviour of the Governor as “black day in the democratic history of the country.” The  alarming moment arose as soon as the governor started  his joint address of the session  amid noisy scenes by the opposition legislators.  The Governor appeared in his aggressive mood towards opposition to silence them.

As it has become customary in the last several years that opposition starts protest on the speeches of the governor or the president in the state legislatures and the Parliament. But it is usually seen that Governor or President restrain calm and continue their reading of joint addresses to the state legislatures or the Parliament in  the last several years.

But the action of Bihar governor on Monday created a unique situation in the history of the Bihar Legislature when he  instead of ignoring the shouting and protests by opposition members to criticize the speeches prepared by the Nitish government for reading in the joint session of the houses.

Heated discussions between governor and the opposition members took an ugly turn as soon as the governor started rebuking them for creating unruly scenes in the joint session of both the houses of the Legislature. Congress legislator Ms Jyoti even used unparliamentary term like “the governor is an agent of Nitish government” against the  Governor. Thereafter leaders of opposition started engaging themselves in the heated discussion with the Governor for his remarks against the opposition legislators. The RJD legislators called the governor’s action “undemocratic and called for his immediate dismissal”. Many opposition legislators expressed similar views in the joint session of the Legislature.

However, the governor continued his reading of speeches despite vehement opposition of the opposition leaders and concluded his joint address amid unprecedented noisy scenes. While lauding the performance of the Nitish government, the governor told the joint session of the legislature that  the present Nitish government had done tremendous service to the state by improving law and order situation in the state as well as initiating developmental measures.

Patna: The recently notified National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to eliminate terrorist activities in the country by the Union home ministry has created flutter among the state governments, ruled by the non-UPA alliance throughout the country. The measures, under the NCTC in view of the  recent spurt in terror activities in the country, are said to be the brain child of the Union home minister P Chidambaram. The chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar is the recent one to join the protest of NCTC with Orissa, West Bengal, Gujarat chief ministers reservation over the scheme to counter terrorism.

In a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nitish Kumar has showed his anger towards NCTC. Kumar has informed the prime minister that such notification would interfere in the jurisdiction of the state governments. The letter mentioned that the notification of NCTC, giving it the power to arrest and search to its officials operation division and also seek information of any kind from any agency including the state governments without any consultation with the respective state governments is  absolutely arbitrary decision of the centre, geopardising the federal structure of the country under the Indian Constitution.

Chief ministers of Gujarat, Orissa, West Bengal, Narendra Modi, Navin Patnaik and Mamta Bannerjee respectively have written separate letters to the prime minister, lambasting the notification of NCTC. Patnaik has written another letter a few days back, opposing the NCTC. Patnaik has pointed that he has no intention of politicising the issue but he is opposed to “high-handed attitude” of the Centre.

Although Nitish had a few days back opposed the notification and followed the line of Modi, Patnaik and Mamta by writing a  protest letter to the prime minister on February 19, 2012. Nitish is also known as  vocal in opposing the various moves of the  Union government  to curtail the power of the states on various subjects including seed bill, cut down in centrally sponsored schemes etc and had insisted that state governments must have final  say in the spheres of the state.

Kumar has said in his letter that effective action on growing terrorism in the country of course “is the need of the hour”-but the Centre should have consulted the state governments before notifying the same for the implementation. Respective state governments have never failed to take action on the directive of the Union government and also cooperating to contain such menace in the past, the letter added.

“Law and order is the state subject and for any search or arrest, the state governments must be consulted”, Nitish added and  requested the prime minister to re-examine the creation of NCTC, scheduled to  come into force from March 01, 2012.

The letter said, “we are aware that  chief ministers of several states have written to you against the unilateral and hasty decision of the  Union home minister to create  NCTC without consulting the state governments. Would you not agree with the suggestion  that the government of India must re-examine the whole issue and ensure that the order is suitably modified to take care of the states’ genuine concerns?” the letter said.

Not only that the letter has also pointed out that the notification has many flaws as it has been set up under the Intelligence Bureau of the Union home ministry, which has no accountability before Parliament. “Is it not an established principle that the secret intelligence agencies are never goiven powers of arrest” Not even the British, during their rule over India, gave the power of arrest and search to IB. None of the post-independence Indian governments have done so till date. Why then such powers are sought to be given to intelligence agencies, which will be misused,” the letter has said.

Kumar also expressed his hunch, in the letter, that NCTC may be used against political opponents and informed, ” You are aware that the eminent political leaders were branded as threats to national security and put behind bars during emergency of 1975-77.”

While raising further doubt over the implementation of  the NCTC, Nitish questioned in the letter, “Do not you think that since police and law and order are state subjects, any action involving arrest, search and seizure should be taken only with the active involvement of the state police”?

The letter further referred, “In fact, the state police have been providing valuable operational  support to the central agencies in such matters on case to case basis. Has there been any instance when a state government has been found wanting in taking action against the perpetrators of crime? Where is the need then to create new centres like NCTC with provisions which arbitrarily trample upon the existing constitutional safeguards to protect the highly delicate balance of power between the Centre and the state?”

Patna: Much-publicised  three-day Bihar global summit for brainstorming discussions on developing Bihar and showcasing the achievements of the present NDA government in the state concluded on Sunday with chief minister Nitish Kumar emphasising the need of more and more central assistance and special status to Bihar for removing its backwardness.

Brainstorming discussions for finding ways to develop Bihar was participated by eminent personalities including the deputy chairman of the planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, professor of the London School of Economics Meghnad Desai, planning commission member Abhijit Sen in the last three days. Yesterday proceedings were marred by vehement protest of audiences when speakers after speakers started complimenting Nitish Kumar government for development of Bihar in the last six years without knowing the ground realities. They alleged many irregularities and corrupt practices in the state and also complained of non-utilization of central assistance for the benefit of weaker sections of society, particularly in rural areas.

Nitish Kumar, however, claimed on Sunday that entire Bihar was passing through green revolution and development was his primary agenda. He, however, said  the Centre must accord special category status to Bhar and requested Planning Commission to think over the demand of Bihar government. Kumar also expressed doubt over plan holiday by the Union government. The Bihar government had already put forward its approach paper to the Planning Commission for the next year planning and also for the next five-year plan.

While presiding over the concluding function, eminent journalist M J Akbar also pleaded for developed Bihar, while praising the efforts of Nitish Kumar in the last six years. He claimed that he was also a Bihari because his father belonged to Bihar and “I want a developed Bihar out of the stigma of backwardness which the state carries.”  Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also spoke at the concluding function, enumerated the achievements of NDA government in the last six years.

Meanwhile, after the conclusion of the Bihar global summit, hosted by the Bihar government in collaboration with the Institute of Human Development, New Delhi, led by Alakh Narayan Sharma and Bihar NGO-Adri led by Shaibal Gupta,  Bihar government officials and Adri and IHD functionaries have started preparing  final reports on the deliberations of the Bihar summit for recommendations for the desired development of Bihar in the light of opinion expressed by eminent participants.

However, the much-hyped global summit on the second day (Saturday) witnessed utter confusion and chaos when a number of speakers including eminent economist Abhijit Sen and noted industrialist Kumarmangalam Birala as well as over half a dozen academcians of Bihar exposed the “good governance” in Bihar and deteriorating condition of common masses and non-availability of electricity to set up or run the industries.

Tension started running high when a noted Sociologist Arwind Sinha  countered the big claims of the Bihar government with regards to good governance for showcashing the success and branding of Bihar in the summit. Arwind Sinha along with professor of economics in the Patna University Nawal Kishore Chaudhary challenged the main speakers including Prof. Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics for praising the Nitish government on development front and ameliorating the condition of poor masses in the state in the last sx years on Nitish Kumar’s rule in the state. For some time, brainstorming session was stormy. Prof Chaudhary, while countering the good governnce and so called development of Bihar in the last six years, told the gathering that Nitish government had completely failed, particularly on educational front.

Not only that Abhijit Sen, who was special speaker on the occasion invited by the Bihar government for speaking in the global summit, reeled of figures of prevailing poverty in Bihar, quoting National Sample Survey report from 2004 to 2009. Sen rubbished the claims of the so called rise in GDP growth and stated that there had been nothing tangible to eradicate poverty in the state.

Even the big industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla, who was also invited by the Bihar government to express his views in the session of the global summit, did not lag behind in putting Bihar government on the mat for poor performances in the electricity sector in the last six years of Nitish regime. Birla, who was straight forward in his forthright speech, expressed surprise over setting up of industries in Bihar when there was no electricity to run the wheel of development.

The Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and senior ministers and officials along with a host of ruling NDA coalition leaders, were left high and dry and cut sorry figures  for considerable  time when the war of words was going on among the speakers to point out the lacunae  of the Bihar government and also ground reality prevailing in the state, particularly in rural areas.

Many of the audiences, who were present  in the jam packed air conditioned Hotel Maurya, to listen to the summit deliberations, also were vocal in speaking that Bihar government was suppressing ground realities prevailing in the state. Many vocally told the speakers that corrupt practices had made the life of the people miserable in the state. Development works were being made on paper only and central funds were not being utilised properly, many were heard shouting and alleging loot of public money.

Meanwhile a separate session for speakers views on agriculture, urban development, industrial development, women plight and social upliftment was also organised separately on the second day of global summit.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar hosted lunch  in the honour of the delegates of the summit. Prominent film personality Javed Akhatar and Prakash Jha were important among those present on the occassion. Nitish Kumar freely mingled with delegates of the summit and spoke with them while serving Bihari delicacies to them.

Patna: A piquant situation prevailed on Sunday afternoon in the  Kankarbagh police station when a girl belonging to the minority community threatened to self-immolate in the police station premises itself to protest the police failure to arrest her tormentors. In the process, the girl along with her relatives were threatened and humiliated by the officer in charge of the police station Balkram Prasad.

According to an eye-wirtness account; the girl along with her relatives entered the police station and wanted to convey her protest for the failure of the police station to arrest  the youths who had misbehaved and tormented her. The officer in charge, instead of giving patient hearing to her and her relatives, started humiliating them. Such behaviour of the officer in charge infuriated the girl and her  relatives. She requested the police officer incharge not to shout them down instead of listening to her protest against the police. Both the girl and the officer incharge were seen engaged in heated discussions. the officer incharge threatened them of dire consequences, shouting  upon them in loud voices, heard  on the adjacent road before a nursing home near the police station.

Being disgusted with  the unseemly  behaviour of the officer in charge, the girl also started shouting and complaining that despite her complaints no action had been initiated  against her tormentors. While narrating her sad tale of woes,  she also informed the officer in charge that she had also met SSP and city SP and they have asked her to meet the police in charge of the police station. She stated before the officer in charge that if no action was taken against the culpirits, she would self-immolate in the police station itself.

Patna: Criminal cases have been filed against the Janata Dal (U) leader Vijay Kumar Singh, husband of the industries minister Renu Devi for allegedly torturing, abusing and assaulting a Mahadalit woman at  Udakishanganj under Madhepura  district, about 200 km from here. FIR has been filed on the directive of the superintendent of police of Madhepura Gopal Prasad in UdaiKishanganj police station.

The superintendent of police has confirmed criminal cases filed against Vijay Kumar Singh, husband of Renu Devi, his security and local mukhiya by  Mahadalit women Rukhiya Devi and Runa Devi. Both of them and also other women were abused, assaulted, and humiliated. They had been pressing for distribution of rehabilitation money  for the destruction of their houses and property in the devastating floods in the area four years back.

Report said that husband of the minister did not want to listen to the grievances of the aggrieved women when they approached them for not creating problems in getting rehabilitation money. Instead of pacifying them, the husband of the minister abused and humiliated them. Along with husband of the minister, the local mukhiya and his bodyguard, they assaulted the dalit women.

Vijay Kumar Singh ,who is also Janata Dal(U)  leader, however, said that he was being malingned by the maha dalit women under a conspiracy hatched by his opponents.

Patna: Close on the heels of veteran film actor, Sanjay Dutt, resigning from the Samajwadi Party and joining Congress party, yet another film actor Sekhar Suman from Bihar has resigned from the Congress. Suman has sent his resignation letter quitting the party to the BPCC headquarters here. Suman had contested last Lok Sabha poll on Congress nomination from the Patna Saheb Lok Sabha seat against BJP nominee Shatrughan Sinha, who won the seat.

Frequent changing of political loyalty by the film stars is not new in the country. They remain both serious in joining some political parties and also quitting the respective parties in such seriousness frequently. Film heroine Jaya Prada, a  Lok  Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, as Samajwadi Party nominee, had also resigned from the the party because of her so called loyalty with the then Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh. Singh had resigned from Samajwadi party and Jaya Prada also toed his line because of her closeness with Amar Singh.

According to the convener of the media cell of the BPCC, H K Verma, Shekhar Suman has sent his resignation from the Congress party and his resignation has been accepted from the party. Shekhar Suman, who is a original resident of Rajendra Nagar and son of an eminent surgeon Dr Phani Bhushan Prasad, has not elaborated any reason to quit the Congress, Verma added.

Patna: Brainstorming session on  the changing Bihar, which began here on Friday with the inauguration of the session here in S K memorial Hall by the Nepal Prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, has purely concentrated on removing the backwardness of Bihar. Bhattarai , during his hour-long speech, showed his interest in strengthening ties with India, particularly with Bihar, which has sprawling land-locked border with Nepal.

On his arrival at the  summit venue, Bhattarai was given standing ovation. In course of his speech Bhattarai referred about different rivers originating from Himalayan region of his  country and entering  into  India, via Bihar as well as cultural and social relationship with India, particularly  with Bihar. He said Nepal is determined to work in harmony with India and called for a joint venture to harness his country’s huge hydro-power capacity and tourist potentiality for the benefit of both the countries.

While  responding to the plea of the  Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for management  of rivers originating from Nepal and entering Bihar, Bhattarai said “we can make best use of water potentiality only through positive cooperation and mitigate damages that our rivers some time cause to us.”

Nitish kumar also shared the sentiments of Bhattarai and said that Bihar leadership would do its best to convince Union government for strengthening the relationship with Nepal, which was crucial for Bihar. He said, “Nepal holds the key to many of troubles besetting Bihar. At the political level, they may be separate entities but at  popular level, Bihar and Nepal are similar and their sufferrings and problems are too similar,” he said.

Bhattarai, who came here for few hours to inuaugurate global summit, left in the evening for his country. But the high-level delegation of Nepal, came with the prime minister, stayed here to participate in the global summit discussions.

Later, after inaugural session, many participants coming from different places in the country and outside the country made their interesting inter-actions for making Bihar a new role model in the aspects of removing its backwardness and bringing the state on the path of development. Remarkably, Nitish Kumar made it clear that increase in GDP rate could not bring Bihar as developed state in totality but the fruits of development, reaching to lowest level of people, must be the topmost indicators in respect of the benefits in social, educational, economic, health sectors.

The second session in which the deputy chairman of the Planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India D Subbarao, Professor of the London School of Economics Prof Lord Nicholas Stern and JD(U) MP N K Singh , who spoke ,threw intersting aspects  on the scenario of development for Bihar. While N K singh pleaded for special category status for Bihar, other well known speakers including Ahluwalia and Subbarao pleaded for encouragement of other sectors like industries instead of mainly concerntrating on agriculture in Bihar. Inflation, tax system, subsidy and central schemes were main topics of discussions by the speakers. Nicholas Stern hammerred for environmental aspects, health and education for all round development of the state.

Ahluwalia pointed out that  Bihar has developed in the last five to six years. Bihar’s GDP has jumped satisfactorily. But he lamented poor living condition of Bihar population continuing and per capita income of Bihar is slipping, Ahluwalia added.

Speakers  gave thrust on controlling inflation and pleaded  for increasing credit-deposit ratio in Bihar, the Bihar government must strenthen cooperative system. Subbarao  admitted that credit-deposit ratio, which is 34-35 percent in Bihar,was terribly low. For  this Bihar gvernment should utilise money from Nabard directly Subbarao said that to increase C-D ratio, commercial banks and cooperative banks were responsible and they must improve the situation. But the Bihar government should also divert its focus on industrial development instead of main concentration of agriculture, Subbarao added.