THE ECONOMY-Selective Wisdom

passing through Bihar, the latest incident being the killing of a Delhi policeman on a running train by dacoits. This has led to a tug of war between Laloo Yadav and the union railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan, with each passing the buck to the other. While the former blames the railways for their failure to protect passengers, the latter accuses the Bihar government of failing to provide security in its territory through which long-distance trains pass. As a matter of fact, Laloo Yadav himself acknowledged the lapses of his administration, when he told the state legislature recently that almost all the train robberies were done in connivance with the police. But then, as the chief minister, why is he not taking steps against the guilty policemen and cleansing his police department? As in UP, in Bihar also politicians like Laloo Yadav depend on and patronise gangs of criminals, who are necessary for them to terrorise opponents, extort money from traders and capture booths during elections. The administration therefore will never lay a finger on these gangs.