How Much Land Does a Man Need?

by Amba Charan Vashishth

December 16, 2005

"How much land does a man need?" That was the title of one of the short stories written by the great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy. In today's contest, we have to rephrase this title into a question: How many mansions does a minister need?

When the new NDA government in Bihar headed by Mr. Nitish Kumar issued a notice to the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his ex-CM wife Mrs. Rabri Devi to vacate the two adjacent bungalows each one of them was occupying although Prasad ceased to be CM more than five years back and his wife lost power more 10 months back in February. Mr. Lalu Yadav tried to make an issue of it as if it was some grave injustice that had been thrust upon the couple by the new government.

The question arises: How many bungalows at government expense does Mr. Lalu needs at Patna? It is true that both being former Chief Ministers each are entitled to a government bungalow at public expense, as per the ruled framed during his own tenure. But it is also true that both Mr. Lalu Yadav and Mrs. Rabri Devi are husband and wife and therefore it would not be wrong to pressure that both must be sharing the same roof in the same house. Every public servant, including officers of all-India Services, like the IAS, are entitled to one government house even if both husband and wife are public servants. But, here is the Railway Minister who needs two houses at government expenses, one for himself and the other for his wife, at Patna although they continue to be husband and wife and one more at Delhi as Railway Minister.

And Mr. Lalu Yadav is the man who swears by social justice!

By coincidence, we also have Mr. Buta Singh as the Governor who even while living in Patna Raj Bhawan and the Bihar Bhawan in Delhi where he could stay while on tour to the national capital, continued to occupy a government house in Delhi even after he ceased to be an MP two years back. He had to vacate the house on pains of the Supreme Court direction to throw him out.

Amba Charan Vashishth is a freelance writer whose articles have been published in THE STATESMAN, THE PIONEER, THE TRIBUNE, and other papers. He also edits a polical fortnightly.
 

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