12 April 2004	Monday	21 Safar 1425

NEW DELHI, April 11: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Sunday if voted back to power the federal coalition will boot out the government of the impoverished eastern state of Bihar in a bid to end rampant lawlessness.

Fernandes, convener of the Hindu nationalist-led coalition, said New Delhi will impose direct federal rule in Bihar, the country's second most populous state, led by Laloo Prasad Yadav.

"I am even prepared to sacrifice my life for change of government and put an end to jungle Raj in Bihar," Fernandes told the Press Trust of India. "If there is no change of government in Bihar, the state will perish and if that happens, the country will be finished," said Fernandes, whose parliamentary constituency is in Bihar.

"The situation in Bihar is pitiable and kidnapping for ransom has become order of the day there," Fernandes said, adding that people were fleeing Bihar "in panic." India goes to polls in five stages from April 20.

Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, an illiterate mother of nine, was installed in office by her husband Yadav after he was arrested in 1996 in connection with a multi-million dollar financial scandal.

Yadav, Bihar's de facto ruler, sacked state police chief D.P. Ojha in December after the official alleged that the province was governed by "rascals." Bihar, with a population of more than 80 million, reports 5,000 murders, 12,000 robberies and hundreds of abductions for ransom on an average year.

Flamboyant Yadav, a sworn opponent of the Hindu nationalists, is seen as a near Messiah figure for most low-caste Bihari voters but is accused of running Bihar as a personal fiefdom. His party has been in office since 1991 despite various attempts to oust it from power. -AFP