India places Bihar state under direct rule

NEW DELHI, March 8 (UPI) -- India's president has approved the Cabinet's recommendation that the central government take direct control of the troubled eastern state of Bihar.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam accepted the Cabinet's recommendation Monday night, Press Trust of India reported, after the leaders concluded no party or alliance could form a stable government after last month's elections resulted in a split vote.

Under direct or presidential rule, India's central government -- and not local politicians -- runs a state on behalf of the president. The governor of Bihar recommended the move.

The decision ends 15 years of rule in Bihar by Laloo Prasad Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi. Recently his wife resigned as chief minister of Bihar. Yadav is one of India's most popular and colorful politicians and a senior member of the federal Cabinet as railways minister.

The Cabinet made the decision in Yadav's absence. Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, another politician from Bihar and a political foe of Yadav's, also boycotted the meeting.

According to the BBC, Paswan said, "Let there be president's rule in Bihar. It will be better than the misrule we had all these years."