Laloo Yadav's troubles

WITH THE RESIGNATION of Mr. Shankar Prasad Tekriwal from the Rabri Devi Cabinet in Bihar, the RJD supremo, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav, can no longer dismiss reports of dissidence in the party as mere tales being planted by his political rivals in the State. That Mr. Tekriwal, among the few who had stood by Mr.Laloo Yadav through the rough and tumble his outfit had to go through (since he took over as Chief Minister in 1990), had decided to quit the Cabinet is, by itself, a serious development. And it reflects the anguish within the party over the manner in which Mr. Laloo Yadav has been making a mockery of all the lofty principles - social justice and responsive governance - that the platform had stood for during the initial years it was in power. Mr. Yadav's brazen approach to the ideal of probity in public life - when he refused to quit as Chief Minister even after the CBI special court had ordered his detention after charges were framed in the multi- crore fodder scam - and the anointment of Ms. Rabri Devi as Chief Minister after he finally agreed to quit the post make a mockery of established canons in public life. It is a fact that Mr. Yadav continued to hold on to the reins of power in the State reducing several senior members of his party to insignificant positions.

The revolt by Mr. Tekriwal (who had been in the Bihar Cabinet for 11 long years) is also an expression of protest by such men of longstanding political experience against Mr. Laloo Yadav's attempt to reduce the party to a family affair. It may be true that Mr. Ranjan Prasad Yadav, around whom the RJD rebels are now gathering, was one of Mr. Laloo Yadav's managers all these years. And in this sense, he too is guilty of all the charges against Mr. Laloo Yadav. And if Mr. Ranjan Yadav is now rallying forces against the Laloo-Rabri regime and organising a revolt against them within the RJD, it could be only because he anticipates a series of developments in the coming couple of months in the CBI special court. Mr. Ranjan Yadav (whose following in the legislature party continues to remain uncertain and no one is prepared to hazard a guess at this stage) seems to have made up his mind to go the whole hog and bid for power in the State. And Mr. Tekriwal's decision to quit the Cabinet and announce his support to Mr. Ranjan Yadav on grounds that he alone is committed to the development of Bihar could be the beginning of a substantive change in the State's political set-up. With reports of at least a couple of more Ministers in the Rabri Devi Cabinet having associated with Mr. Tekriwal, Mr. Laloo Yadav can no longer gloss over the developments within his party. The slender majority that the ruling coalition consisting of the RJD, the Congress(I) and the left parties enjoy in the State Assembly makes things more difficult for Mr.Laloo Yadav.

Be that as it may, there is another aspect to the goings-on within the RJD that is of concern. And that is the prospect of the RJD rebels making common cause with the NDA or at least with sections within the NDA. That Mr. Ranjan Yadav will have to depend for his survival on sections from within the NDA is a fact. After all, there is no way he can take the entire RJD legislature party with him. And it is this reality that must cause some serious concern. The task of governance, which had taken a beating in Bihar even otherwise, could be the first casualty in the event of any such change as is likely to emerge in Bihar in the given context. Apart from being an unstable coalition brought together on a one-point agenda (to get rid of Mr. Laloo Yadav), any dispensation by the RJD rebels that will depend on groups within the NDA for its very survival can only lead to chaos.

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