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'Rabri's was the law of the jungle. President's rule is that of an executioner'

Tara Shankar Sahay in Narayanpur (Jehanabad district)

The imposition of President's rule in Bihar appears to have made scant difference to the inhabitants of this tiny village where armed hirelings of the upper castes butchered 12 dalits in cold blood on Wednesday.

The presence of Prabhat Kumar, an activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), in the village was ignored by the large number of policemen deployed there. Or probably they did not think he could create any trouble.

Apart from the fact that the state is now under President's rule, the policemen also knew Congress president Sonia Gandhi would be arriving in a couple of hours. That probably explained the laxity of the guardians of the law, who, for a change, were not preventing the people from speaking to journalists.

In a conversation with Rediff On The NeT, Prabhat Kumar lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the Rashtriya Janata Dal, calling them two sides of the same coin. Kumar said a people's movement is necessary to get justice for the oppressed rural folk. Excerpts:

Does your party find any qualitative difference between the dismissed Rabri Devi government and President's rule?

(Spitting vehemently on the ground) Yeh log badlao nahin la sakte. (These people cannot bring in change.) Rabri raj jungle raj tha. Rashtrapati shaasan, ya kahiye BJP shaasan, jullaad raj hai. (Rabri's was the law of the jungle. President's rule, rather BJP's rule, is that of an executioner.) The poor do not need such government.

So what does your party want?

It wants liberation from the BJP or the RJD or any such governments. It wants a government of the people where justice for the poor will be swift and decisive.

Do you think your party's expectations will be fulfilled in the present political milieu?

We are struggling against bourgeois forces to make our dreams come true.

Where do you place the Congress? Can it help realise your dreams?

I doubt it. Let us see what Sonia Gandhi has to say to the people of Narayanpur.

Earlier, your party used to abuse the Congress, but it seems to be having second thoughts.

No, no, our party's misgivings about the Congress are fully justified. I was only saying that we are curious what Sonia Gandhi is going to say to the people. (At this point, a boy informs Prabhat Kumar that 5,000 CPI-ML activists have been arrested for defying prohibitory orders. Kumar becomes thoughtful.)

You were not very clear about your party's stand on the Congress.

I told you, we are not very enthusiastic about the Congress. Actions speak louder than words and we want to see what action the Congress takes about the massacre.

Your party has consistently advocated that the dalits and oppressed rural people should stand up to the tyranny of the landed gentry. Does that mean a reprisal is going to take place against the Narayanpur killings?

I don't understand your fancy words. Aap kehna kya chahte hain? (What do you mean?) Does any sane person in this country expect the Narayanpur victims to stay calm after what has happened? An appropriate answer will be given. But I cannot say when.

Now that President's rule has been imposed, do you think some action will be taken against the Ranvir Sena?

(Angrily) Aap bewakoof to nahin hain? Kya aap ummeed karte hain ke Bhajpa Ranvir Sena ko pakadegi? (Are you naïve? Do you think the BJP will curb the Ranvir Sena?) The BJP is a mukhota (mask) of the Ranvir Sena, they will certainly not arrest people of their own kind.

What proof do you have to support this allegation?

Everybody in Bihar knows the BJP has been harbouring the Ranvir Sena and protecting its members because the Ranvir Sena is protecting the upper-caste landholders who belong to the Sangh Parivar. That is why we are not in favour of either the BJP or the RJD or any other party favouring the Ranvir Sena.

Now that Rabri Devi's government is gone, what do you think will be Bihar's political future?

Unless people are successful in launching an appropriate movement, the oppressed rural dalits and others will keep languishing in misery and poverty.

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