CONSPIRACY MAY BE UNLEASHED NEXT WEEK

CONSPIRACY MAY BE UNLEASHED NEXT WEEK

8-MARCH-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA----------------------------A major conspiracy could be unleashed next week. This government is notorious for operating in a guerrilla style. Nitish Kumar's leave and the simultaneous arrival of a rogue Governor of West Bengal from Tamil Nadu to Kolkata indicate this.

An announcement to create a Union Territory by combining four Seemanchal districts of Bihar - Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria, and Purnia - and four Muslim-majority districts of West Bengal - Malda, Murshidabad, Raiganj, and Dinajpur - could be made at any time. President's rule will be imposed in West Bengal so that the Governor can propose it, and in Bihar, after Nitish Kumar's demise, an emergency meeting of the Legislative Assembly can be called to pass it easily.

In the Jammu and Kashmir case, the Supreme Court has already stated that the Governor can make such a proposal in the event of President's rule being imposed. (We had written then that the Supreme Court had delivered a dangerous decision that could further undermine the country's federal structure.)

After President's rule is imposed, by the time Mamata Banerjee goes to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court begins the spectacle of hearings, the new Union Territory will be formed. This work must be done before the West Bengal elections are announced.