Focus of political storm in Bihar shifts from Covid-19 cases to jobs

Storm brewing

Officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) and those of various Central Armed Police Forces (such as the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force), or CAPFs, have been carrying on a fight on social media for the past few months. The issue is IPS officers assuming key posts in the CAPFs and those who are directly recruited as assistant commandants in the CAPFs missing out. Both sides have been tweeting their arguments for and against maintaining the status quo. But while the IPS officers have been vocal, those on the other side have to hide behind anonymous accounts or attribute their claims and arguments to family and friends. The banter took a serious turn over the weekend when some IPS officers claimed that some “supposedly CAPF officers” have made objectionable remarks and even lodged complaints. If sources are to be believed, at least four FIRs have been registered against those handling such accounts in Delhi and Hyderabad. While the forces are known for discipline, this episode will likely snowball into a bigger showdown.

With respect to migrants

The focus of the political storm in Bihar has shifted from the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state to providing jobs to more than 1.7 million migrant labourers who have returned to the state since the trains to ferry them were started. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has emerged after many weeks to challenge the chief minister on the issue. 
 

He was seen over the weekend putting up posters saying “Nitish Kumar sharm karo. Shramiko ko samman nahin de sakte to apman kyo?” He was referring to a controversial letter purportedly written by a senior police official asking local authorities to prepare a plan to handle an expected spurt in crimes that the returning migrants might be tempted to commit in the absence of jobs or money. In pictures that went viral over the weekend, Yadav was seen atop a ladder putting up the posters that asked, among other things, “Unhoney majdoor bhaiyon ko lootera kyon kaha?”

Big house, small salary

During a recent conference call with analysts, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar stumped everyone while answering an analyst who asked him whether the bank was considering salary cuts for its employees in the way private banks were doing. Kumar, who speaks chaste Hindi, said if salaries of SBI employees were cut, then “hamein road pe aake rehna padega; pehle hi itni kam milti hai (we have to live on the roads as our salaries are quite low already)”. Kumar’s lament went viral with almost all banking community WhatsApp groups talking about it.  Just for the record, the SBI chairman is among the few fortunate people in Mumbai who live in a palatial bungalow.