Bihar: RJD MP Sudhakar Singh booked for protest over 'land grab' by BJP govt

Bihar Police has registered an FIR against RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, his associate Shashwat Gautam and several others following a protest against a proposed water park project in East Champaran's Pipra Kothi, where the opposition leader alleges that land worth nearly Rs 700 crore is being "snatched away" without compensation.

The FIR, lodged on a complaint by a construction agency associated with the project, accused Singh of obstructing public work. He has also been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly assaulting workers and attempting to snatch Rs 35,000 that was purportedly meant to be distributed among labourers.

Besides Singh, 27 persons have been named in the FIR, while 30 others remain unidentified.

At the heart of the controversy is a 17.3-acre parcel of land in Pipra Kothi identified for the construction of a water park. Singh and his supporters recently ploughed the site in protest, claiming the land's market value is close to Rs 700 crore and that farmers are being deprived of both ownership rights and compensation.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, 7 July, Singh described the FIR as politically motivated and said he would approach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, contending that the case amounted to a breach of parliamentary privilege as it was filed against a sitting MP for taking part in a farmers' protest.

Speaking to National Herald, the RJD leader alleged that the BJP-led government was attempting to transfer high-value land to private interests under the guise of development. "The Pipra Kothi episode raises serious questions about how land is being taken away from farmers," Singh said.

He claimed that if the government had formally acquired the land, farmers would have been entitled to compensation running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Instead, he alleged, efforts were being made to take over the land without following the acquisition process.

Singh further alleged that authorities had sought to invalidate a nearly 95-year-old jamabandi record dating back to colonial times to facilitate the project.

The RJD MP also targeted senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, accusing him of promoting policies that favour corporate interests over farmers. Referring to the 400-acre Moti Lake, he questioned why the BJP government was not investing in existing public assets instead of acquiring fertile agricultural land.

Drawing parallels with other decisions of the Bihar government, Singh alleged that nearly 10 lakh acres of land across the state were being readied for transfer to corporate interests, accusing the ruling dispensation of pursuing a policy that favours "cronies over farmers".

He cited the lease of over 1,020 acres in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur, to Adani Power Ltd for a thermal power project.

Gautam Shaswat, a policy analyst and former adviser to former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, alleged that vast tracts of land across Bihar were under threat from what he described as a corporate-driven development model. "While Bihar continues to grapple with poverty, unemployment and migration, government policies are increasingly benefiting a handful of large business houses," he said.

Asserting that the agitation would continue, Singh said the FIR had only strengthened the resolve of those opposing the project. "Our determination to protect farmers' land has become stronger," he said.

The Bihar government has not yet responded publicly to the allegations.