JD-U MP accused of helping activist’s killer

Aug 18, 2013 - ANAND S.T. DAS |

Age Correspondent

Patna

A JD(U) MP from Bihar has been accused by lawyers in his constituency of patronising an alleged killer of a lawyer-cum-RTI activist who had highlighted a series of corrupt practices in a panchayat.
When Muzaffarpur MP Capt. Jainarain Prasad Nishad of Bihar’s ruling JD(U) faced a tough time at the chief judicial magistrate’s court in the town where charges were framed against him on Friday in a 2009 case for violation of the model code of conduct. Many lawyers shouted slogans against him outside the court accusing him of protecting the main accused in the murder of Ramkumar Thakur. Nishad, who was present at the court, denied the allegations levelled against him by many members of the Muzaffarpur district bar association and described them as “entirely baseless”.
Thakur, one of the main persons to expose the scam relating to payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Muzaffarpur, was shot dead in his native village, Ratnauli, on Saturday evening. The village head or mukhiya is the prime suspect in the case. Thakur, who had exposed a series of scams in the MGNREGA and installation of solar lights in his panchayat, Ratnauli, was shot dead in Maniyari in Muzaffarpur district on March 23 evening. The 48-year-old lawyer was associated with the non-profit organisation Bihar MGNREGA Watch and filed nearly seven RTI applications to expose a series of irregularities.

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‘Poll Charity won’t help rural India’
Gandhinagar, Aug. 17: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted the Centre’s rural development schemes, saying that ‘charity’ for winning elections instead of solid development work will not help improve rural India.
This is for the first time Modi attacked the socialist agenda undertaken by the Congress-led UPA for rural welfare.
Apparently hinting at popular schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and other cash doling schemes introduced by the Congress government, Mr Modi said this will not empower people to be self-reliant. — PTI

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