JDU MP Kaushalendra Kumar from Bihar’s Nalanda has now raised the demand to ban ‘Bajrang Dal’ there too. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, reacted to this and said that he does not have time to think about such things, he is busy with other things. However, ever since Nitish’s alliance with the BJP has been broken, he has been on a spree to project himself as more secular. There are frequent reports of riots on religious festivals in Bihar and polarization in the society is intensifying. In such a situation, it would be very difficult to assess whether the impact of the Karnataka elections or the preparations for the upcoming Bihar elections is behind this demand of the JDU MP.
Banning is not a solution
Those who are demanding to ban Bajrang Dal today, they were with them a year back. There are many types of ideologies in our country, there are many types of people, there are many types of characters, so who and how many will you ban? If it is a matter of banning, then there are casteist organizations, conservative ideas, ban them. Banning is not a solution.
According to me organization like Bajrang Dal has no role in today’s society, but demanding to ban it is same as actively working for Bajrang Dal. This is probably because some leaders address their voters from time to time. This is only vote bank politics and hence should not be supported.
Since JDU was with BJP till last year, now when they have come away from NDA, they are searching for new mass base. They know that the mass base is anti-BJP and Lalu Prasad already has influence there. So they think that by saying all this they will increase their votes, Muslims will vote for them. Now that vote bank which is anti-Modi vote bank is the vote of Grand Alliance and this is their internal fight. So that’s why they are telling Lalu Prasad that brother, we are the new mullahs, we will eat more onions. You used to ignore them, we talk about banning them. Otherwise, this is a ridiculous demand. The Buddha who used to call God ‘Avyakrit’, used to say that brother, don’t talk about him at all. If you talk then there will be problem. So, these kind of issues are distracting the public from the main issue. Sometimes you get caste-wise census done, sometimes you demand ban on Bajrang Dal, then all these are not the real issues.
Nitish’s working style is extreme
The working style of Nitish ji, there must be talk on it. For example, he banned alcohol. When you completely deny something like this, you also create an unwanted attraction towards it. Like, the spirit of celibacy in our country made people more oriented towards sex. This ‘denial’ is wrong. You allegedly stopped drinking, but the quantity of alcohol also increased and more people started dying. Nitish Kumar’s government has spread liquor to every village. After that suddenly banned. The situations that have come to the fore now point in a different direction. Now suppose, you have banned Bajrang Dal, then the child who did not even know about the village-rural or city, will also start asking about it.
There is a poem by the German writer Bertolt Brecht. She tells that a revolutionary went to the jail and there he wrote the slogan on the wall of the jail. The jailer strongly disliked it, so he made him travel. Now that slogan has started shining. Then, the jailer said to dig it up, so it was dug with a hammer and chisel and now it looked completely different – long live Lenin.
So, we should desist from this extreme approach. Anyway, this thing is against conscience that ban it, ban it. If there is any extremist organization, then ways have to be found to deal with it. You will ban Bajrang Dal and celebrate in Haj Bhawan, then people are watching, not what you are doing? If you build Haj Bhavan, people will also demand that Chhath Bhavan should be built next to it.
Secularism has to be understood. On the one hand, you are neutral, on the other hand, wearing a cap, you are doing iftar with government money. If you get Iftar party organized at your home with the money from your salary, then it is okay. However, when you have an Iftar party at the government residence, will there be Satyanarayan Katha tomorrow, Ram Navami worship? If it happens, then is this the work of the government… This work should not be done by the government. No one should support such demands.
Was Nitish right in 1994, or in 2022?
When Nitish came in 2005, he had some agenda. He did something for the Panchayats, thought. He thought for common school, formed a commission. A report came under the leadership of Muchkund Dubey. The report of the Land Reforms Commission came. After that they put the whole report in cold storage. Leaving everything in 2011, he formed the upper caste commission. What happened to him?
Now they are conducting caste-wise census, which was finally banned by the Patna High Court. Be it Nitish or anyone else, he should first of all think what should be our basic issues? Bihar is a very backward state in terms of education, health and employment, so this should be our priority. It was a very good initiative by Tejashwi Yadav when he talked about 10 lakh jobs in the 2020 elections. Now it has been almost a year, when he is the representative of the largest party, the government is based on him, Tejashwi is the Deputy Chief Minister and the government is running according to his words, then where is the matter of 10 lakhs? < /p>
A secular government is one that works by rising above the issue of gender and religion. That work is not happening. When Nitish rebelled against Lalu in 1994, his argument was that the government cannot run under Lalu’s leadership, Bihar cannot progress. After that, after so many years, they feel that without Lalu no work will be done. So, now decide whether he was right in 1994 or is he right in 2022. The issues that Nitish had raised, he himself turned away from them. So, they should consider themselves. Where has the report on common school system gone, where has Muchkund Dubey’s report gone, then Nitish Kumar is of a divided mind, confused and he is not able to know what he is trying to do? Nitish should bring the people of Bihar to the issues of reality, they have been living on emotional issues for many years.
(This article is based on personal views)
