Bihar CM aides bring shame on him

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may be trying to get a foothold in Uttar Pradesh by holding a rally in Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi on Thursday, but back home, his own leaders have left no stone unturned in puncturing Nitish’s credo of good governance.

Take for instance, his party MLC Manorma Devi, now suspended for shielding her elder son Rocky, charged with murder.

Almost 48 hours have passed since the order to arrest her was issued on Tuesday evening. But the second-term legislator is still on the run evading an imminent arrest.

The lawmaker has been charged with 2 more crimes: keeping liquor in her house despite prohibition being in force since April 5 and employing a child as domestic help.

But then, why blame Manorma Devi alone? The JDU MLA Sarfaraz Alam, charged with molestation in Rajdhani Express and RJD legislator Rajballabh Yadav, charged with raping a minor girl, are some of those ruling party leaders who have not only brought bad name to Bihar but caused huge embarrassment to Nitish who is running a coalition government in the state in alliance with the RJD and the Congress.

In fact, ever since he assumed power as chief minister in November 2005, Nitish earned the epitaph of ‘vikas purush’ (development-oriented man) in his first 2 terms. But his third innings as the Bihar CM has been making headlines mostly for the wrong reasons.

Notably, all those who have hugely embarrassed Nitish are ‘borrowed players’, drawn from the RJD. Sarfaraz Alam, the 46-year-old JD (U) MLA from Jokihat, was originally in the RJD as his father Mohammad Taslimuddin (who, in 1996-97, served as Union minister of state for home in the Deve Gowda ministry), is a sitting RJD MP.

After Sarfaraz was booked under Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for sexual harassment) for his misdemeanour in Guwahati-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, the JD (U) suspended its party legislator.

Another RJD MLA Rajballabh Yadav made everyone hang his head in shame when he allegedly raped a minor. The 55-year-old lawmaker is languishing in jail.

Similarly Manorma Devi, whose son shot dead a Class XIIth Aditya student last week, was RJD MLC from 2003 to 2009. She became JDU MLC in 2015 when Lalu mended fences with Nitish. Her husband Bindi Yadav, also in jail in the same murder case, had earlier contested Assembly polls as RJD leader.

Deep within, Nitish may be repenting for having inducted such shady characters in his party.