NEW DELHI, 6 March 2004 — NDA convener and Defense Minister George Fernandes said yesterday that if the National Democratic Alliance returned to power in the upcoming general election, it would impose federal rule in Bihar in order to ‘’accelerate the pace of development and bring the state back on rails.”
Bihar is currently ruled by Laloo Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Addressing a party rally to celebrate the induction of over 3,300 Nationalist Congress Party activists into the Janata Dal (United), Fernandes said the new government’s first task would be to impose federal rule in Bihar keeping in view the state’s alleged failure to curb criminal activities and exploit opportunities for overall development despite all possible assistance from Delhi.
Among the NCP activists who joined Fernandes’ JD(U) was former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra. Both Fernandes and Mishra held Laloo responsible for Bihar’s backwardness.
Without naming Laloo, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar alleged that the person holding the reign of power for the last 14 years in the state was out to disintegrate the country by playing caste politics.
Senior BJP leader and Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj challenged Laloo to arrest Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani during his yatra (march) through Bihar. “Let him do it and then we will see,” she warned adding that the leaders of every political party have a right to undertake mass contact programs.
The Election Commission has made it clear that it has no problems with Advani’s proposed yatra and that it would be a legitimate “democratic exercise.” However, Chief Election Commissioner K. Krishna Murthy said the state government concerned would be within its rights to take action if it felt such a yatra would disturb order.
