CPI(ML) Bihar State Secretary Kunal has strongly condemned the arrest of Arwal MLA Comrade Mahanand Singh on August 4, calling it politically motivated and a clear misuse of state machinery. His arrest was made in connection with a decades-old case dating back to 2001. The case pertains to a protest held in 2001 when CPI(ML) had launched a nationwide resistance against the brutal police repression on party General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya in Jharkhand. During that protest, Comrade Mahanand Singh, along with other comrades, led a movement in Arwal and was falsely implicated in a fabricated case at that time.
The arrest after 24 years clearly shows that the entire action is happening under the political direction of the BJP and JD(U). Just recently, another CPI(ML) MLA, Comrade Gopal Ravidas, who was leading the protest against the horrifying incident in Phulwarisharif where two children were burned alive, was also booked under false charges.
The BJP-JD(U) alliance, fearful of losing power, is now targeting CPI(ML) MLAs through fabricated cases and wrongful arrests, while letting loose known criminals and perpetrators of violence. The CPI(ML) has declared that jails and repression will not intimidate the party. The days of this authoritarian regime are numbered.
Statewide Protests Erupt Against False Cases and Arrests
On August 5, protest marches were held across various districts of Bihar, including Patna, Arwal, Jehanabad, and Phulwarisharif against the deliberate targeting of CPI(ML) MLAs and leaders by Nitish Kumar-BJP regime. In Patna, a protest march was taken out from GPO to Station Golambar, followed by a two-hour-long public meeting.
The protestors denounced the filing of a false case against Comrade Gopal Ravidas and 40 other demonstrators when they led a protest in Janipur, Phulwarisharif, demanding justice for two minor siblings who were burned alive.
Speaking at the protest, party leaders condemned the arrest of Arwal MLA Comrade Mahanand Singh in a 24-year-old case and the registration of a false FIR against Comrade Gopal Ravidas, who had recently led a protest demanding justice for two children burned alive in Janipur, Phulwarisharif. Instead of prosecuting the guilty, the administration has filed cases against those who stood with the victims, the party alleged.
In stark contrast, ruling party MLA Chetan Anand, who was recently involved in misbehaving with doctors at Patna AIIMS, is roaming free without consequence.
Speaking at the rally, MLA Comrade Gopal Ravidas said: “While the ruling party MLA who misbehaved with doctors at Patna AIIMS walks free, we are slapped with cases for demanding justice for the people. This injustice will not be tolerated. Bihar’s people will give a fitting reply to the NDA government in the upcoming Assembly elections.”
The government is targeting struggling and popular MLAs to crush democratic rights. BJP and Nitish Kumar’s government are attacking democracy on all fronts, whether through Election Commission manipulations or fake FIRs and arrests.
The party questioned how convicted individuals like Jivesh Mishra can roam free while people’s representatives fighting for public interest are jailed. This, they said, is a direct insult to democracy.
