Barely days before their nuptial, Rabri Devi, former chief minister of Bihar and wife of Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad had complained bitterly to her parents for marrying her off in a penniless family.
Years later, Lalu Prasad proved his 'worthiness' and political acumen by making Rabri Devi the Chief Minister of Bihar - a passage from kitchen to cabinet, literally! It was Lalu's way of ''paying off a debt to his wife,'' reveals a first-ever autographed pictorial coffee-table book "Lalu Prasad:India's Miracle" on the Railway Minister launched in the national and international markets on September 18 last.
In her own admission, Rabri Devi says, "Shadi mein khoob ladai hua (my marriage involved a lot of family drama). The reason was that while all of my other sisters were married off to the well-to-do families having huge landed properties, my in-laws had just a thatched roof.
''Just everyone kept telling my father that why are you handing out your daughter to a 'bhikhmanga' (beggar)?'' reveals the 216-page coffee-table book, the first of its kind on the charismatic politician, authored by Neena Jha and Shivnath Jha and published by Bismillah:The Beginning Foundation under the aegis of "Andolan Ek Pustak Se" launched to protect musicians, academcians, artists and others who have brought laurels and pride to the Independent India three years back.
The book carries several interesting articles on the veteran politician's life, his 'basic mantra' for success in his life and his incredible turnaround of Indian Railways. It holds responsible at least seven former Bihar chief ministers, then Central leaders, and more than 100 senior IAS and IPS officials for the present sorry state of affairs in the eastern state and making it a ''hell''.
'' The upper caste people of caste-ridden Bihar always tried to suppress the lower caste people educationally, economically and politically. Lalu Prasad has given voice to all the voiceless people and empowered them to fight for their right in society,'' says the book.
Not only that, it also reveals that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) there was a gross violation of CBI's 'rule book' for 'personal glorification' and the agency has got power to destroy careers and image of any politician and bureaucrats by 'misusing' their authority.
The book says that on August 18, 1997, A. P. Durai, then Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF) had submitted a 27-page "sensational recommendations" in the controversial multi-crore animal husbandry scam involving Lalu Prasad.
The book comprises Durai commission's recommendation, says, "CBI today has the power to destroy careers of both officials and politicians and therefore, the personal character and affiliations of their investigators and supervisors should be subjected to scrutiny from time to time."
It adds, "Officers exhibiting non-professional tendencies using CBI as a platform for personal ambitions should be identified in time by the Director and repatriated from the CBI if they are deputationists or given non-sensitive assignments if they are CBI- recruited officers."
The animal husbandry department scam (popularly known as fodder scam) in Bihar have gained national importance as hundreds of crores of rupees were alleged to have been swindled by unscrupulous politicians and government servants from the treasuries of the State.
In startling remarks on the functioning of CBI's officers, the Durai Commission observed that "the chain of command appears to have been broken both from within and without. Measures, should therefore, be urgently taken up to insulate this premier investigating agency from the politics of the day. Government might perhaps, start with the top."
The book comprising letters of constitution of Durai Commission and its recommendations says, the DOPT, vide No. 245/65/97-AVD II, dated 1.8.1997, had constituted a commission and assigned the task to Durai to examine the conduct of CBI officers in Patna who requisitioned services of the army on 30th July, 1997 for execution of non-bailable warrant on former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
"This single traumatic episode has shown how an uncontrolled segment of a central organisation can set Centre - State relations on a collision course. Evidently, environmental pressures (both political and caste-oriented) have been impinging on the CBI and caused fissures in their professional ethos and loyalty to rule of law," the commission observed and recommended that "the Government of India may please consider necessary action as deemed fit against U.N.Biswas, then JD (East) (now retired), V.S.K.Kaumudi, SP, CBI, and Rakesh Kumar, Standing Counsel, CBI Patna High Court for having acted in excess of their authorities."
"A study of the functioning of JD (East) and his sub-ordinates in relation to the handling of animal husbandry scam cases would give an impression that it was time that the primacy of the Director CBI was reasserted to bring back professionalism and discipline among the officers concerned," the book says quoting commission.
"Biswas has displayed a definite predilection to intrude into areas not assigned to him, particularly the domain of the State Government relating to law and order," the commission observed. It further stated that "Rakesh Kumar, Standing Counsel has acted apparently without any qualms of professional propriety and decorum. He saw nothing wrong about telephoning to Mr. Justice Jha at 5 a.m. He saw no need to file a petition in writing or obtain orders in writing or to reduce the oral directions of the Monitoring Bench in writing."
Biswas was retired on January 31, 2002. Biswas had been placed in-charge of directing investigation in all animal husbandry scam cases and reporting progress periodically to the Monitoring Bench of Patna High Court consisting of Mr. Justice S.N.Jha and Mr. Justice S.J.Mukhopadhyay.
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