BIHAR-Wrong Turn

land resources. Though Dorendra Singh accused Keishing, a Naga and an ex-chief minister of the state, for fomenting trouble, his plea went unheeded by the central party leadership. Meanwhile, the speaker of the assembly, Borobabu Singh, had also raked up a controversy by summarily disqualifying members of the assembly, making unrestrained use of the anti-defection law. Presidents rule which was imposed at the beginning of last year failed to improve the situation during its eleven-month duration. Instead, the army became an added irritant in the rapidly spreading conflagration in the state. Rishang Keishing was made the chief minister just two months before the expiry of the last assembly. The only reason for making him the chief minister by hook or crook was that he is a Naga and was considered likely to bring temporary relief to the Naga-Kuki conflict. Perhaps the same calculation persists in making him the chief minister again now.