In Bihar, a woman IPS officer takes on top cop

Patna: It is khaki versus khaki again in Bihar and this time it involves a woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and the State Director General of Police (DGP).

The Bihar Police has written to the state Home Department asking for the suspension of 2006 batch IPS officer Anasuya Rana Singh Sahu. According to the state police, which has prepared a dossier on her stint in Sheikhpura, she was trying to collect money through her bodyguard and her driver.

The state police's economic offences wing tapped the mobile phones of both the constables for over two months, and based on the transcription, showcaused Ms Anasuya. She was transferred out of Sheikhpura last week, and has yet to be given a posting.

But Ms Anasuya has now decided to fight back. After replying to the showcause notice, today she decided to charge none other than state DGP Abhayanand, for targeting her for what she describes as refusing to his "unreasonable and wrong recommendation."

She also said that when her bodyguard and driver are prima facie responsible, then action should be taken against them and not against her. "When I'm responsible for my driver's illegal activities, then shouldn't the DGP also face action for my lapses, if any?" she asked.

Ms Anasuya also admitted that she has had heated exchange of words with her boss on two occasions over his pressure to implement what she describes as something which was not consistent with the law.

Today, when contacted, Mr Abhayanand refused to comment on the charges made against him, saying in Ms Anasuya's reply submitted to the state headquarters, these charges were not mentioned. "It's beyond my comprehension why such charges are being levelled in media," he said.

This episode has once again exposed how divided Bihar Police has become these days and how the state DGP is facing criticism from his own juniours. Earlier this month, during the state DGP's meeting in New Delhi, he faced a lot of criticism from fellow colleagues when he read out his paper "riot vs lathi" on how to control mob without using minimum force.

Nitish Kumar takes the lead, drops diesel prices in Bihar

Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to cut local taxes in Bihar to make diesel prices 85 paise cheaper. Last week, in an attempt to reduce fuel subsidies, the centre increased the price of diesel by Rs. 5, excluding Value-Added Tax (VAT). The price hike was part of a series of big-bang reforms that included limiting the supply of subsidised cooking gas to households and opening up the retail sector to foreign super-market chains like Wal-Mart.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has quit the PM's coalition over these economic measures, citing them as "anti-people" policies. Sources in the Congress say the government is leaning towards a 50-paise rollback in diesel prices, and increasing subsidised gas cylinders from six to nine per household. The party has also suggested that Ms Banerjee could drop state taxes to lower the price of diesel. She has angrily rejected that option on the grounds that her state is broke.

Diesel prices had shot upto Rs. 50.80 per litre in Bihar. With the discount he has thrown in today, Mr Kumar has stolen the centre's thunder should it decided to drop prices soon. The chief minister is on a tour of the state to highlight his campaign to get "special status" for Bihar, a petition rejected by the centre earlier this year. His decision to make diesel cheaper will be used at rallies to claim that his government intervenes when the centre ignores the needs of the aam admi or common man. Due to the VAT reduction, the total loss to state exchequer will be Rs. 118 crore.

Without Ms Banerjee, the UPA is in a minority. Mr Kumar belongs to the opposing coalition, the NDA, which is led by his partner in Bihar, the BJP. Yesterday, he declared that his support in the next general election will extend to whoever promises "special status" for Bihar, which would make it eligible for special financial packages from the centre along with assistance in attracting private investment. The chief minister, who has 22 of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats, said Bihar will be a major player in deciding who comes to power next in Delhi. Mr Kumar's remarks - which suggested he is up for grabs - shook up the BJP, which insists that he remains anti-Congress. But if Mr Kumar is open to wooing, the Congress has shown it's interested. "Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV. 

From: NDTV

Did Nitish Kumar just put NDA on notice? His comment suggests he's up for grabs

Patna: With the UPA government reduced to a minority after Mamata Banerjee's withdrawal, political alignments are shaping and reshaping themselves virtually by the hour. And regional parties are looking at pushing their agendas and demands in the politically uncertain situation. Though it is the Congress which is in most pain right now, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA got a bit of kick in the shins as well.

It came from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who said that his party, the Janata Dal (United) was willing to support whoever gave the state special status. "Whoever supports special status for Bihar, we will support them at the Centre," Mr Kumar said.

His party, which is in alliance with the BJP in Bihar, has 22 MPs in Parliament, three more than the exiting Trinamool Congress. He said that Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will play a lead role in deciding who comes to power next.
 And if Mr Kumar indicated his party was available, the Congress suggested it was available. "Several states including UP, Bihar need special packages, so we will have to discuss," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told NDTV. He also said that Mr Kumar had "proved" his secular credentials several times, while pointing out that he was the Railway Minister during the Godhra riots in 2002.

But JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who is also the NDA convener, made light of Mr Kumar's remark. "I speak to Nitish Kumar three times a day... He is usually three-four places ahead of me so what can I say about what he has said... there is nothing of the sort," he said.

The BJP, which leads the NDA coalition, of which Mr Kumar's JD(U) is a key constituent, downplayed the latter's remark. "You misunderstood what he (Nitish Kumar) was saying. He was taunting the Congress as there was a request for special assistance earlier. There is nothing more to it," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

Earlier this year, the Centre rejected the 'special status' tag for Bihar which would entitle the state to large loans, major tax concessions, financial packages, infrastructure development, and a concerted effort by the Centre to boost private investment in Bihar. Mr Kumar's administration says that when Bihar was bifurcated in 2000, it lost a significant part of its natural resources to the new state of Jharkhand. In retaliation to the Centre's refusal, Mr Kumar began his Adhikar Yatra (Rights March) from Bettiah in West Champaran district today. It will culminate on November 4 with a rally in Patna, the first since in the state capital in nearly seven years.

Over the last few months, the relationship of the BJP and the JD(U) has been disturbed by the chief minister's remarks against senior BJP leader Narendra Modi. Mr Kumar has said that as the largest party in the ensemble, the BJP has the prerogative of picking the coalition's prime ministerial candidate. However, he has warned that he will exit the group if the BJP makes Mr Modi its nominee. 18% of Bihar is Muslim, and their vote is crucial for Mr Kumar. He has stressed that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate must have secular credentials - a thinly-veiled remark against Mr Modi, whose ambitions to move to the national landscape from Gujarat are hampered by the communal riots in his state in 2002.

Bharat bandh over FDI in retail, diesel price hike: Trains stopped in Bihar, UP, Mumbai unaffected

New Delhi: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance along with other opposition parties have called a nationwide bandh today to protest against the government's reform measures announced last week. Nearly 5 crore traders and 25,000 trade associations are also taking part in this bandh demanding rollback of FDI in multi-brand retail. Schools, colleges, markets and transport services are likely to be affected in most states.

The protests began early this morning in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Workers belonging to BJP Yuva Morcha blocked three trains at Patna railway station and in Darbhanga, CPI(ML) workers stopped the Ganga Sagar Express. In Allahabad, Samajwadi Party workers staged demonstrations on rail tracks. There are also reports of trains being stopped in Bhubaneswar in Odisha.

In the national capital, public transport is running smoothly so far. Metro trains are also on time.

Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra is likely to be unaffected by the bandh call due to Ganesh Chaturthi festivities. Both the MNS and the Shiv Sena and even the BJP have said that they will not enforce the nationwide strike in the state because of the ongoing festival. While MNS supports FDI in retail, BJP and Shiv Sena are opposed to it. So public transport, malls, super markets all other services are likely to function normally. Schools and colleges also will stay open.

Karnataka meanwhile has seen partial effect of the bandh call so far. While buses are off the road, autos are plying.  Trains are also running on time. There have been no protests so far.

Taking some politically tough decisions last week, the government had hiked the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, capped the supply of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to six per household and cleared 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail - reforms, which saw its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, pull out of the UPA. The opposition has called for the bandh to protest against these reform measures.

Today's strike against these new policies has won the support of parties ranging from the Left to the BJP, and crucially, Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party is now key for the government's survival. The Samajwadi Party, which has 22 MPs and was for long considered the Congress' Plan B if Mamata Banerjee ditched the UPA, has been playing hard to get. The SP has been vehemently opposed to FDI in retail and has told the UPA that it cannot take its support for granted. "Let the Congress be enlightened," he said yesterday, of the political situation, "that it has to give people more than corruption and rising prices."

The Left Front will also be holding a 12-hour strike in West Bengal to oppose the Centre's new reforms. "The government is making a false claim that oil companies are facing losses. ONGC, Bharat petroleum, Hindustan petroleum are making profits and not losses. So, there is no reason for increase in the prices of oil. This will increase inflation and prices of all commodities," CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat had said.

Meanwhile, coming as a huge relief to the UPA, which is now in a minority in Parliament after the Trinamool Congress announced it was exiting the Congress-led ruling coalition, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said it will not participate in the nation-wide strike even though the party opposes FDI in retail. The Congress is now looking at the BSP, which supports the UPA from outside, as its best bet to make up the numbers it needs to survive. The BSP has 21 MPs, two more than the Trinamool Congress.

The DMK, a member of the UPA with 18 MPs, has said it remains with the government, though it will participate in nationwide protest against FDI in retail, and the new diesel prices. Sources in the Southern party say that the DMK has decided "not to embarrass the UPA" and that its course will not be affected by Ms Banerjee's pull-out.

Though the policy to allow 51 per cent FDI was cleared first in November by the cabinet, it was shelved after Ms Banerjee threatened to pull out of the UPA. Sources say that last Friday, when the cabinet decided to implement the reforms, many senior ministers were also caught off-guard. The policy had not been listed in notes circulated before the meeting. Though Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had a phone conversation with Ms Banerjee the night before, he did not refer to FDI in retail. The government had informed other allies Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, and TR Baalu about its plans - allies who it was confident would not block the reform.

The new reforms, designed to revive a sluggish economy, means global firms such as Wal-Mart can set up shop with a local partner and sell directly to consumers for the first time. Like the Left and the BJP, Ms Banerjee had argued that the entry of international super-markets will put thousands of corner shops and farmers out of business. 

Nitish Kumar strikes back at Uddhav Thackeray

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he was amazed by Uddhav Thackeray's remarks that Shiv Sena will not support Mr Kumar as NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate for protesting the arrest of an accused by the Mumbai police from Bihar and asked who has sought Sena's support and for what.

"Ek adbhut bayan ek neta ka aya hai (an amazing statement has come from a leader)," he said referring to Mr Thackeray's rant against him for expressing disapproval of the manner of arrest of an accused from Bihar by the Mumbai police without informing the local police last week.

"Bina soche samjhe bolne ki paripari ban gayi hai (a trend has been set up for speaking without applying mind)....kabhi kabhi hansi aati hai (one at times wants to laugh at such things)," he said.

"Kaun samarthan mang raha hai (who is asking for support)," Mr Kumar asked, referring to Uddhav Thackeray's comments.

"I am not in the fray for NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate," the Chief Minister said and slammed the Shiv Sena leader for saying that his party will not support Mr Kumar for supporting a "traitor". 

Girl shot in the eye while trying to save father from assaulters in Bihar

Patna: A 15-year-old girl has been left blind in one eye after she was shot in the face by goons who she fought to save her father, a barber, in Bihar's Naugarh village, less than 100 km from Patna. Doctors are battling to save her other eye.

The girl's father, Biseshwar Thakur, says one of his clients, a man he identified as Rahul, was not satisfied with the way he had trimmed his beard and assaulted him. When Mr Thakur's daughter intervened to help her father, Rahul and another man with him turned to her and pulled at her dupatta, in an effort, says the father, to molest her. The girl started to run; when she looked back, one of the men shot her in the eye, he alleged.

The teen has been taken to the Patna Medical College and Hospital, where doctors are trying to save the other eye. The police has not arrested any of the accused so far.

From NDTV