PATNA: The Nitish Kumar government has come under friendly fire from ally BJP over the state’s rising crime graph, giving the opposition parties a handy weapon to hit back at the state government.
The Bettiah MP and BJP state president, Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, on Friday took to social media to raise his concerns over the state’s law and order situation and stated that he would talk to the DGP to apprise him of the “ground reality”. The CM holds the home portfolio.
“People are putting up road blockades and picketing people’s representatives to express their anger over rising incidents of burglaries in the Champaran region. I came across such a situation near Semra village during my trip from Bettiah to Patna on Thursday,” Jaiswal stated.
The Bettiah MP also complained that there has been no action in connection with a murder case in Raxaul, which he had brought to the notice of the SP concerned. Jaiswal shared some pictures showing people’s angry reaction to cops for their failure to check the incidents of crime in the region.
The senior BJP leader’s post created a flutter in both political as well as administrative circles in the state.
The opposition parties were quick to grab the issue. Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said, “It’s amazing that Dr Jaiswal wants to meet the DGP to discuss the law and order issue. His party has two deputy CMs in the government. Shouldn’t he talk to the CM instead of the DGP?”
The Congress leader said the BJP state president’s reaction to the poor law and order situation is nothing but a ‘pakhand’ to deceive the people. “Sharing something on social media is not the solution to the problem. People’s lives have been put at risk. There is no law and order worth its name,” he added.
Reacting to the BJP chief’s statement, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari said, “It’s a political gimmick of BJP. It’s nothing but a part of a well-knit strategy of the saffron party to create pressure on CM Nitish Kumar.”
Tiwari further said, “The CM is holding the home portfolio. The BJP earlier wanted to keep the home department with itself (read one of the two deputy CMs), which Nitish didn’t allow. The CM should make an official statement on the law and order situation.”
The ruling JD(U), however, didn’t find anything wrong in the BJP president’s statement. JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok said, “It’s good that the people’s concerns have been brought to the notice of the authorities. The government will act as per the provisions of law.”
Though top police officials preferred to keep mum and avoided reacting to the BJP state president’s statement, authoritative sources in the state police headquarters said senior police officials were working on implementing concrete measures to check crime.
The sources said the CM is likely to review the law and order situation within a week, the second one after being sworn in as CM for the fourth consecutive term. Law and order issue was a prominent issue during the recently held state assembly polls.
The statistics released by the state crime record bureau recently for 2019 also hinted at a rise in crime under some heads.