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Journalism of Courage
PATNA, MARCH 24: A Congress team led by former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil today cancelled its proposed visit to Jehanabad’s Senari village, scene of the recent massacre of 34 people, on the advice of the State administration.
A party spokesman told PTI that the team, sent by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, cancelled the visit as the State administration feared it might create a law and order problem.
According to reports, Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly from Ghosi in Jehanabad Jagdish Sharma was recently manhandled when he visited Senari to console the bereaved families, while former MLA Ramjatan Sinha was chased out by villagers. They were protesting against the Congress’ role in reinstating the Rabri Devi Government.
The six-member delegation later called on Governor B M Lal at Raj Bhavan and expressed concern over the Rabri Devi Government’s failure to check continuing extremist violence in the State, particularly in Jehanabad district.
The delegation said that a majority of the main culprits were still at large due to “administrative inertia.’
Expressing the Congress’ concern over the spate of agrarian violence, Patil underscored the need for concrete steps to check their recurrence.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party today accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of maintaining a dubious’ silence on the recent Jehanabad massacre in Bihar and said that the people had the right to know whether she supported the Rabri Devi Government or favoured its removal.
Though Congress leaders had been demanding the Rabri Devi’s resignation, Gandhi was maintaining a studied silence which was "really intriguing," party vice-president K L Sharma told reporters.
He said Gandhi should break her silence and let the people know what she felt about the recent massacre as also the role of the State Government.
Referring to statements made by certain Congress leaders, Sharma said the utterances had failed to convince the people. Earlier too, the Congress had said the Rabri Devi Government had no moral right to be in power but had later done a somersault to reinstall her in the State.
He said there was a polarisation in the State’s political arena with the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) lending their support to the Rashtriya Janata Dal and others opposing it.
The BJP leader also alleged that resentment against the Congress and RJD was so high that both parties had not been able to visit the site of the recent massacre.
Senari massacre: 14 held
The Bihar Government today told the State Assembly that 14 persons had so far been arrested in connection with the slaughter of 34 upper caste people at Senari village in Jehanabad on March 18.
Water Resources Department Minister Jagdanand Singh said in the House that of those arrested, one was named as accused in the case in the first information report instituted by the Karpi police of Jehanabad.
He said all those arrested were produced before the court of the chief judicial magistrate (Jehanabad) who had remanded them to judicial custody.
