AFTER the completion of elections to the three-tier panchayati raj system, a tug of war is going on between the elected representatives and government of Bihar for devolution of powers to the elected bodies as stipulated in the panchayati raj legislation of 1993. The Rabri Devi government is reluctant to hand over powers to the elected bodies and is creating hurdles for the elected representatives in performance of their duties.

Recently, the Patna High Court took cognizance of the issue and directed the block development officers (BDOs) to give adequate powers to the elected mukhiyas (panchayat heads) so that they can work effectively. Now, coming months are likely to witness a grim battle between the bureaucracy and the elected representatives on various issues concerning the panchayats, block committees and district councils --- the three tiers of the panchayati raj system.

The CPI(M), CPI and other smaller Left parties have welcomed the High Court’s intervention. They are planning to resort to various forms of struggle to force the government to see reason and legally and financially empower the elected bodies so that they may effectively function.

In the meantime, at about 10 p m on July 17, the police resorted to firing at Maheskhunt in Khagaria district, and shot dead two young boys --- Santosh Kumar and Anuj Kumar. The trouble started when the officer in charge (OC) of Maheshkhunt police station, Prabhakar Thakur, arrested a woman on the charge of stealing bananas from Ravindra Chaurasia’s field; Chaurasia had also beaten her before she was arrested. The newly elected mukhiya, Rajesh Kumar, a member of the CPI(M), went to the police station and talked to the woman who had been beaten by Chaurasia. He pleaded with the OC that the issue may be settled at the panchayat level.

However, when Rajesh Kumar was talking to the OC, the latter and Mantu Ram, munshi of the police station, began to beat him mercilessly. Those accompanying Rajesh Kumar objected to the beating, and later sat on a dharna on the nearby 31st National Highway. The number of the people soon swelled to over 2,000 and they began to demand the immediate suspension of the OC and the munshi.

It is to be noted here that Rajesh Kumar has been fighting against the misdeeds of the corrupt OC and munshi of the said police station for a long time. Before this incident, Rajesh Kumar had also objected to the illegal sale of captured edible oil by these two police personnel. The two police personnel were waiting for an opportunity to teach Rajesh Kumar a lesson and when they got it, they beat him black and blue. But they did not know that they will have to pay for their misadventure.

When the people were raising their voice against the two police officers, Renu Devi, a Samata MP, passed by that way. She tried to pacify the agitated mob but failed. In between, at about 9 p m, the Khagaria superintendent of police (SP) also reached the spot. But when Renu Devi, Rajesh Kumar and the SP were talking among themselves at a nearby telephone booth, the police opened fire, killing Rajesh Kumar’s brother Santosh Kumar and one Anuj Kumar, while they were going to switch off their shop’s generator. According to the eye-witness accounts, they were shot at by Prabhakar Thakur and Mantu Ram deliberately. Due to the police firing, those assembled on the spot began to flee here and there, and about a dozen people were injured in the melee.

The firing only added fuel to the fire. The people began to demand compensation and jobs to the family members of the deceased. The people allowed the police and administration to take the dead bodies for post mortem only after the CPI(M) state committee member and MLA from Khagaria, Yogender Singh, reached the spot and the district magistrate (DM) of Khagria gave an assurance that their demands will be met. Rajesh Kumar wanted to file an FIR against the OC, munshi and the SP. But the police did not record an FIR and forced him to sign on a plain paper.

On July 18, a delegation of the CPI(M) state committee, comprising Awadhesh Kumar, Geeta Yadav, Yogendra Singh and Nageshwar Prasad, led by its state secretary Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, visited Maheshkunt and held talks with different sections of the people and the administration and police authorities.

Vidyarthi condemned the unprovoked firing over a peacefully agitating crowd and the deliberate murder of two innocent young boys. The party demanded a high level inquiry into the police firing and institution of a murder case against Prabhakar Thakur, Mantu Ram and the SP of Khagaria. It also demanded Rs five lakh compensation to the family of each of the deceased. The party gave a call to organise protest dharnas throughout Bihar on July 31.

The Bihar state unit of the All India Kisan Sabha has decided to launch a big movement in the entire Koshi belt stretching from Purnea to Madhubani. The movement will be organised zone wise. An elaborate organisational exercise will be launched in the entire belt in the next few months.

In a recent cabinet meeting, the Bihar government has okayed the UGC pay-scale for college teachers. But many of them have been deprived of the hard-won promotions they had got. All the teachers who had been promoted on time-bound basis as professors or readers, will now get the pay-scale at par with lecturers. The two apex state bodies of college teachers in the state have rejected the government decision and given a joint call to oppose it tooth and nail. In a letter to the chief minister of Bihar, the CPI(M) condemned this anti-teacher decision of the Bihar cabinet and asked the government to withdraw it. It has also demanded that a meeting be convened with teachers’ bodies and a decision taken according to the earlier agreement.