The fodder scandal has claimed, along with deposed Chief Minister Laloo Pråsad Yadav, the other erstwhile "stalwart" of Bihar politics under whose chief ministership the fraudulent withdrawals first took place. If Mr, Laloo Prasad Yadav "fathered" the scam to dizzy heights, it was Mr. Jagannath Mishra who, it can be said, was its "godfather". Available evidence suggests that he was deeply involved with all facets of the scam. More than anything else, Mr. Mishra's arrest should silence those who had been accusing the investigating agencies of (caste) bias ... Mr. Mishra's arrest, however, also reinforces the extent moral degeneration of Bihar's politics with two (ex) Chief Ministers currently in jail. If the image of the political class has hit an abject low with the people ... if the fair name of democracy in the country has been besmirched, it is these mean men of straw who, masquerading as messiahs of the masses, have done the tarnishing.

It would be appropriate remind the law-enforcing agencies, chiefly the CBI, that mere arrest of those charged with corruption in the Bihar fodder scam is not enough .. It now redounds on the CBI and the judiciary to expedite the trial into one of the most brazen instances of the looting of public exchequer. It would be a travesty of justice if a conspiracy now is hatched to slow down the progress of further investigations, While the IAS officers accused of involvement have been grilled by the CBI, the agency appears to be going soft on the politicians.