Self-immolation bid not a child’s play
The two Youth Congress supporters’ self-immolation bid after the arrest of Rahul Gandhi turned out to be a political drama gone horribly wrong. According to sources in the Youth Congress, the duo’s self-immolation had nothing to do with their regard for Rahul. “It was a mistake. Kerosene is used in such political self-immolation bids because it is not highly inflammable. But someone poured petrol on the duo instead of kerosene. A match strike sparked the fire, leaving the two yelling,” said a Youth Congress leader.
The self-immolation drama has been played several times in the state capital. But it is always meticulously planned. The activists ensure that kerosene is used and the police are there to prevent them from setting themselves afire. “A gang of supporters persuade the activists in public not to self-immolate themselves and delay the process till the police arrive and arrest them,” an experienced activist said. The mistake by the Youth Congress activists have led to speculation that the event was either not planned well or somebody actually wanted the duo to burn.
Inaugurating the city bus service on Sunday, chief minister Nitish Kumar said he would travel in them in disguise to check if all was well with the service. “It has been a long time since I have sported shirt and trousers. People will not recognise me if I wear them,” he said. The remarks had political tongues wagging. “It reflects the mentality of Nitish. He has begun to think that he is the raja (king) of Bihar,” an RJD leader said, recalling that kings and emperors used to roam around their kingdom in disguise to find the plight of their people. “But even if Nitish feels that he is the king of Bihar it may not be a bad idea roaming around as a commoner. He will find out the difference between the rosy picture presented to him by his officials and the reality,” the RJD leader said, stressing that so far the various journeys undertaken by itish was stage-managed by officials. Chief minister Nitish Kumar virtually endorsed the public perception on police. While inaugurating the public transport system, minister Brishen Patel said the new bus system should be shielded from rangdars (extortionists). Nitish was quick to point out that senior police officials were present at the function. “Who can be a greater rangdar than the police? They will take care of all the rangdars,” he said. The public perception about the police is that they can put a full stop to crime if they really want to. “But the police let the small rangdars to do their job so that policing can be fruitful,” said a retired police officer. A senior IAS officer is keen to go to Delhi on central deputation but the chief minister poured cold water on his plan when he asked the official to prove his mettle in Patna before proceeding to Delhi. “You have immense potential to serve the state. But you are always keen to run away to Delhi. First prove yourself here,” the chief minister said. “The words must be haunting the IAS officer. It means hat the state might not clear his deputation to the Centre or delay the procedure,” senior official said, pointing out that there were several IAS and IPS officials wanting to move to Delhi but the state refused to release them. Nitish has always lamented the shortage of IAS and IPS officers in Bihar. But he will be surprised to know that many would give their legs and arms to go to Delhi, considered the Mecca by most Union government officials.
