By Raghawendra Deo:
A seemingly innocuous letter regarding a normal procedure to be followed between two Governments created a little flutter which was enough for banter buzzing media houses. However, the Bihar Government should have exercised more restraint in intimidating to launch criminal proceedings against the police of other state for abduction. First of all, the letter brings to my mind the impression of mutual mistrust between two Governments. Such an inter-state relation will not augur well for India which is facing, day by day, threat of internal strife and subtle external aggression in form of cross border terrorism which has always an inter-state bearing. Given the mode of transport and the intensity of crime taking place these days, unnecessary adherence to the police code of Cornwallis era will only benefit the criminals. However, this can happen only in case of mutual trust and co-operation. In the current episode, the worst is that leaders at the loggerhead are just taking care of their vote bank and relegating nation in the background.
Bihar Government took umbrage of not just the action of Maharashtra Police, but also of Karnataka who arrested without informing the local police. It is high time that Nitish Kumar should think of whether Bihar is a becoming safe haven for criminals. Furthermore, there is also a danger to the image of Nitish Kumar which he has carefully cultivated in the last fifteen years, becoming another patron of the policy of minority appeasement. His consistent and strong opposition to the Narendra Modi is only reinforcing such image. If it is so, it is very dangerous for the unity of the country as Kishanganj is not very far away from Bangladesh.
Raj Thackeray’s rhetoric has made him popular among Marathi youth. He has considerably dented the strong hold of rival Shiv Sena. Notwithstanding of the increasing popularity, Raj Thackeray, in my view, is committing a grave mistake in interpreting Maharashtra in a very narrow sense and confining it to the present geographical boundary of the State. The concept transcends beyond it. Maharashtra is a nationalism churning land. The history can be traced back to the days of Shivaji Maharaj. Baji Rao and his son were also influenced by the idea of Maharashtra and posed stiff resistance to the invading army of Afghans. Ideas are a flowing concept while geography a static one. An idea stifled in a particular territory is termed as jingoism. Being the leader of the youths especially teenagers, Raj should be equally concerned about negative influence gripping the youth today. He should also be restless on listening to the news of rave party attended by the teenagers in the dark of night. When he has the potential, he should utilize it constructively rather than engaging in verbal duels making life miserable for poor labourers who anyway supports the Maharashtra economy and have no time for politics.
Last but not least, such correspondence between two Governments is always confidential in nature. The question remains as to who leaked the letter.