No Ministers from Bihar

Congress led UPA might have created history by making a first women speaker of the Lok Sabha, but in the process it has also created history of insulting Bihar. The current UPA government led by the Dr. Manmohan is perhaps the first government in the history of independent India that does not have a representation from Bihar.
A state, that witnessed several important ministers in the union cabinet in different governments since independence, today feel alienated from policy making of the country. Those who complained of step motherly treatment to Bihar from centre will get boosted to prove their point. In fact a state that played an important role in revolutionising the politics of the country is today feeling as isolated as never before. And whole responsibility for this discrimination goes to congress party, which claim to treat every state equally.

It is also true that ministers from the state have not done much to ameliorate the suffering of the state, yet some initiative by them for the development of the state cannot be ignored. Moreover it gives pleasure to state to see its representative in the nation building.

While there were 10 ministers from Bihar in the outgoing Union Cabinet constituted after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, there were 13 ministers from the state in the NDA government formed in 1999. Ten ministers from the state were in the Deve Gowda-led government in 1996 and the same was the case in I.K. Gujral's government.
Apart from Minister For Defence and External Affairs Minister, the state have sent seven Railway Ministers from 1956 to 1962 when Jagjivan Ram became the first Railway Minister from this state.

It is interesting to note that at one hand congress is thinking of reviving the party in Bihar by gaining people sympathy while on the other hand it is leaving no stone unturned to marginalize the state leaders in the national politics. At the time Lok Sabh election the congress party particularly its local leaders in Patna were so enthuse that within 24 hours they finalised names of 40 candidates from state within 24 hours. They were hopeful that the congress was only party that would turnaround the ailing Bihar. Though party could not succeed in from of seats, it managed to improve its percentage of vote in the state by over six percent. In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the party managed to secure four per cent votes while in 2009 LS elections its percentage increased to 10.26%.

Yet the congress party choose to ignore the state, which played an important role in the nation building. People of Bihar are not only feeling hurt over ignoring an elected member, Asrarul Haq Qasmi from giving a berth in union cabinet, there are also feeling that there were several non elected political and non political persons from Bihar who have sympathy with congress could have been accommodated in the union cabinet. Who could latter be accommodated in the Rajya Sabha. But it could not happen. Bihar’s enthusiastic congress leaders’ stoic silence over the insult of state at centre is questionable. Are they get active during elections only to get party funds or they have some tacit understanding with rival groups in the state.
If congress continue to ignore Bihar in such a way it can not hope to get sympathy and votes in the state.

While I sympathise with the above writer for not having a minister in the union cabinet, I cannot but suggest that it is because of Bihar's own doing.
As per the writer Bihar has had a good run of ministers at the centre but what have they got to show for their presence.
Bihar has become more famous for the number of criminals who have been elected as MPs.
With jokers like Lalu who perpetually made a fool of himself in front of the camera, how can Bihar ask for any ministers.
Lalu they say turned around the railways but the real credit should go to the bureacrats who turned it around. Yes,Lalu should be credited for allowing them to do their work unencumbered, without any interference.
The bureaucrats on their part allowed Lalu to take all the credit at the IIM's and various forums where the railways performance was the subject of many case studies.
The face of Bihar which is visible to outsiders is the behaviour of its commuters to bona fide passengers in the railways.
As long as genuine passengers in reserved compartments are pulled up and made to sit in cramped position and their seats are occupied by unauthorised persons, Bihar will remain as it is, whether Lalu or Paswan or Nitish Kumar comes.
Bihar has got more than its rightful share of ministers.
Further, the Congress is trying to set a new example of corruption government.
finding people who are not corrupt in Bihar is like looking for a needle in a haystack