The Bihar government has rejected demands to review its prohibition law, which has been in place for a decade, despite concerns raised by members of the ruling NDA about financial losses to the state.
'Nitish Kumar is the only leader who gave us everything.'
'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
'They are not ready to take the vaccine.' 'They fear that if they do, they will die.'
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi threatened to resign from the cabinet, alleging that his Hindustani Awam Morcha was not getting a fair deal in the NDA ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. Manjhi, the lone MP of his party, said he wanted 40 seats for his party in the upcoming elections, adding that he was not pursuing any personal ambitions but seeking a better deal for the "Bhuiyan-Musahar" Dalit community.
Sada, who was away in his constituency in Saharsa district, was asked to come to Patna by Kumar soon after Suman announced his resignation.
"He (Manjhi) was in constant touch with BJP leaders. He recently met several BJP leaders... He wanted to be part of the June 23 meeting of opposition leaders... but I had apprehensions that he might leak issues/matters that will be discussed on June 23.
'If Rajpath was a symbol of slavery, how is the Central Vista not a symbol of slavery?'
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday hinted at a thaw between his party and the Congress, saying had a telephonic talk with Sonia Gandhi whom he asked to hold a meeting of 'like-minded' parties which could join hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Each family was given two acres for agriculture purposes, a residential plot measuring 200 sq metres and a house in Kanpur Dehat district.
SP and SBSP leaders had shared the dais in Mau on Wednesday and announced that they would together trounce the BJP in the 2022 elections.
The activists of Dr Ambedkar Vichar Samiti and Nav Srijan Samiti from Ahmedabad were taken into custody on Sunday night and sent back home, officials said.
Sarmesh Kumar is the first in his family, that comes from the community of rat eaters, to go to college. Archana Masih/Rediff.com met the young man and traveled to his village -- which Bill Gates visited a few years ago -- as Rediff.com looks at Bihar through the stories of its people.
'Today in Uttar Pradesh all big parties like Samajwadi Party, BJP or even Bahujan Samaj Party are out to woo smaller parties as they know the Hindu votes are getting divided.'
Rahul Bedi tells the story of Bihar's 'untouchable' Musahar community, which is slowly, but steadily rising to its feet, with the help of J K Sinha, a former intelligence officer and a Good Samaritan. He has built a modest residential school that offers their deprived youth not only free and competent education, but also self esteem.
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to Bihar government over reports that at least 72 children fell ill after having their midday meal in two government schools in the state.
Prayaag Akbar tells the story of 1,000 years of caste-based repression, and of a people's quest for dignity under a democracy that has failed them.
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
'The Mallahs may remain divided between the two competing coalitions in Bihar,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The Musahars, still regarded as 'untouchables' in the state, usually hunt rats for food in the paddy fields.
Pictures of the well laid out dining table with an assortment of dishes and cutlery went viral on the social media.
Targeting opposition parties, Adityanath alleged the agricultural land on which tribals used to practice traditional agriculture was registered "in the name of a Congress leader in a wrong way in 1955". He also claimed that the village head and his brother involved in the incident were associated with the Samajwadi Party.
Mohammad Sajjad raises important questions about the response to lynchings.
'It is the RJD, otherwise known for misgovernance, which has offered a candidate of clean and performing credentials, rather than the NDA,' points out Mohammad Sajjad.
'In Bihar, the Dalits are not a consolidated socio-political constituency,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Across the country -- in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Manipur, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal -- men were lynched on suspicion of being thieves by ordinary people armed with rods and sticks.' 'But none of these lynchings made big news.' 'None of these lynchings were cow/beef-related.' 'The perpetrators were unknown people, not so-called gau rakshaks.' 'So why were these instances of mob violence considered less newsworthy than cow-related lynchings?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
Factors such as industrial backwardness, crime, poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and poor educational infrastructure will take a backseat to identity
'That the commandments to officialdom were issued by a BJP functionary and not a minister is a reflection of the Yogi government's work style.'
'For two months, Jitan Ram Manjhi kept a low profile. Once he was put in a place of power even though he had not acquired it himself, he thought he deserved it. He thought he must promote his own political career. Secondly, all those who were opposed to Nitish Kumar, either within the party or outside, started supporting him,' says Professor Prabhat Ghosh, director of the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna.
"Governance, governance, governance," was what Nitish Kumar said were his three priorities when he took the helm of Bihar in 2005.
Every evening when the lights glow in the huts of Gangapur village, the villagers thank two young men - Ajay Kumar and Somil Daga.
'The BJP has replaced huge portraits of the two BJP leaders from Gujarat with very small portraits of many leaders from Bihar. Much is being read into this changed tactic of hoardings and banners,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
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