Ever since Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar joined NDA once again, he has turned a new leaf. A few controversial decisions aside, he is back to being the ‘Sushasan Babu’ he was once famous as. Nitish has played a significant role in sending notorious lawbreaker and ex chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav behind the bars. Earlier, he had supported various reforms instituted by the NDA openly, even when he was a part of the Mahagathbandhan with RJD, JD (U) and Congress.
Now, months after he broke away from the Mahagatbandhan, Nitish has begun a major administrative overhaul, which includes appointments to various administrative posts. In one such incident, the present Bihar government has appointed K.S. Dwivedi as the new Director General of Police of the state, following the retirement of DGP P.K. Thakur.
To quote Principal Secretary Shri Amir Subhani, “Dwivedi has been appointed to the post of the DGP of Bihar on the basis of his clean service record and his seniority. There were four officers in the state of DG rank, of whom Dwivedi was the senior-most.”
However, the appointment of a seemingly meritorious officer kicked up a hornet’s nest, as RJD spokesman Manoj Jha cried foul, accusing Nitish Kumar of toeing BJP’s line and catering to anti-Muslim sentiments. To quote him, “…..the decision has clearly been taken by Nagpur and imposed on Patna.” Jha accused Nitish Kumar of acting at the instance of the BJP. Ex chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha supremo Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had quit the NDA and joined the RJD-Congress combine, also expressed concern over Dwivedi’s appointment to the DGP post.
Even the intellectuals were not to be left behind in joining the slugfest, accusing the Nitish Kumar government of being biased towards the Muslim community. Left-wing media portal The Wire published an entire article lambasting Nitish Kumar for appointing Dwivedi as the DGP, who according to them, is a man of questionable credentials.
But why is KS Dwivedi being lampooned? Of what is he accused? The real reason goes back almost three decades, when the town of Bhagalpur in Bihar was rife with murderous violence, following a ghastly attack on a peaceful procession in support of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Following this attack, Bhagalpur was engulfed in a month long process of anarchy and riots, which left more than 1000 people dead.
At that time, the man in question, K.S. Dwivedi, was the Superintendent of Police, Bhagalpur division. He was deputed to maintain law and order following the riots. Had it not been for his able decisions and quick action, Bhagalpur would’ve seen the rise of another Kashmir-like situation in Bihar. However, instead of being rewarded for his actions, Dwivedi was castigated for his alleged inaction in preventing deaths in the Muslim community. He was transferred at the behest of the then chief minister S N Sinha, who was supposedly following the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s advice. The order was later revoked following a massive uproar by both the masses and the press.
The appointment of KS Dwivedi as the DGP of Bihar has created a furor amongst the intelligentsia, who fear that his no nonsense approach, like that of his counterpart OP Singh in Uttar Pradesh, could restore law and order in Bihar. This would defeat their purpose of keeping the state, once famous for its immense contribution to India, in turmoil. To be honest, if the appointment of Dwivedi can cause such mayhem in the anti-Indian opposition, imagine what his actual work on ground will do. Come what may, we are assured of one thing : if not in Bengal, ‘achche din’ are now definitely coming to Bihar, and the duo of prime minister Modi and chief minister Nitish will now have the last laugh!
