Chief Minister calls for CBI probe
in food rights activist’s death
Moved by a national outcry against
the murder of Palamau-based food
rights activist Lalit Mehta last
month, the Jharkhand chief minister,
Madhu Koda, has called for a probe
by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) into the
killing.
“We have recommended
a CBI probe into the death of Lalit
Mehta, considering the demand of
social workers and other people,”
Koda told reporters at a press
conference in state capital Ranchi.
Will Central Government respond?
The announcement came two days
before a protest outside Jharkhand Bhawan in the national
capital on June 20th.
Activists are now calling on the
Central Government to order an
inquiry by the top investigating
agency at the earliest.
The incident evoked an empathetic
response from Sonia Gandhi, Congress
Party president and chairperson of
the ruling United Progressive
Alliance (UPA). An official message
sent by her was read out at a
public hearing held immediately
after Lalit’s murder.
“Maybe his (Lalit’s)
work became a threat for those
involved in the irregularities,
which ultimately led to his
killing,”
Gandhi said in the message.
Mehta, a member of Vikas Sahyog
Kendra (VSK), a long-term partner of
ActionAid, was killed on May 14
while he was on his way to Palamau
district for a social audit of the
National Rural Employment Guarantee
(NREG) scheme.
Death for demanding food
Over a month since the brutal
killing, the sense of outrage has
transformed into a resolve to dig
deep for a fight for accountability
and implementation of entitlements
to food and work meant for the
poor.
As many as 17 activists have been
killed in the recent past in
Jharkhand alone. Lalit’s death has
sparked demands for state level
action against corruption in the
implementation of rural employment
scheme in this tribal-dominated
state.
In the days and weeks since Lalit’s
death, Jharkhand has seen an
unprecedented mobilisation on the
issue of food and work entitlement.
A rally was held on June 10th,
under the banner of Daman Virodhi
Sangarsh Samittee (Campaign
committee against repression and
corruption) – launched in response
to Lalit’s killing. Eminent social
activists, including Swami Agnivesh,
Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy,
Nikhil Dey and CPI politburo member
D Raja, gathered to demand a CBI
probe and action on making the NREG
work.
The rally was preceded by a
candle-lit procession at Albert Ekka
Chowk on the evening of June 7th,
and a two-day protest-fast.
Senior journalist Prabhash Joshi and
a host of Left leaders participated
in the fast.
Movement against corruption
“What happened in
Jharkhand could be repeated in other
states as well…,”
said Aruna Roy in the national
capital on June 17th at a
meeting of activists held to demand
a special investigation by the top
audit authority of NREGA
implementation in Jharkhand.
“The central and the state
government should explain as to what
is happening in Jharkhand and take
steps to restore the confidence of
the people,” she added.
Central government NREG officials
have also expressed concern over the
functioning of the scheme in
Jharkhand.
In a letter to union rural
development minister Raghuvansh
Prasad Singh, activists, including
ActionAid members, have called for
mechanism to improve accountability
to address grievances with the
scheme.
