PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cancelled his visit to Chennai on Tuesday at the last moment due to a "health complication." However, no details were immediately available about the health issue.
Nitish was scheduled to attend the birth centenary celebrations of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and also extend an invitation to his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin to participate in the opposition leaders’ conclave in Patna on June 23.
Instead of Nitish, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and senior Janata Dal (U) minister Sanjay Jha left for Chennai.
It is to be noted that Jha accompanied Nitish to his meetings with non-BJP party leaders. Jha is considered a close aide of Nitish.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will also not be present in the opposition leaders' conclave.
Earlier, Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh announced that senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and national president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend the meeting.
The party's national general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal may be present at the meeting. Nitish has already called on important leaders of non-BJP parties who are expected to participate in the meeting.
“We have got confirmation about the participation of leaders/chiefs of parties of 16 political parties so far. Preparations are in full swing.
CM Nitish himself is monitoring the preparations for the stay of the visiting leaders and other amenities,” JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar said.
Nitish had earlier met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former CMs of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Akhilesh Yadav Uddhav Thackeray, respectively.