PATNA: Facing a relentless attack from BJP over Chhapra hooch tragedy and alleged rising crime graph, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will embark on Samadhan Yatra from Valmikinagar in West Champaran district from Thursday. Nitish will primarily review implementation of various government schemes including his pet Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali drive during his Samadhan (solution) Yatra. He will be visiting various districts during his first phase of Yatra which will conclude on January 29.
Nitish will not hold any rally and also not address any public meeting during the Yatra as it will be an official exercise. The schedule of his Yatra was announced by the state cabinet secretariat department. This will be his 14th Yatra since the first one in 2005. In addition to reviewing implementation of various development schemes, Nitish will also hold meetings with select groups and will try to know local problems from them during the Yatra.
He will also hold district level review meetings in which ministers in charge of respective districts, chief secretary, DGP and officers concerned will participate. Besides them, ministers and officers concerned will also join the meeting through video conferencing. Local MPs, MLAs and MLCs will participate in these meetings as per their wishes.
Meanwhile, BJP has taken a dig at Nitish over his ‘Samadhan Yatra’ as former Bihar deputy chief minister and MP Sushil Kumar Modi said that Nitish was embarking on his this journey to avoid quitting the CM post immediately under RJD’s pressure.
“Nitish will somehow keep delaying the coronation (CM post) of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav till 2025,” he quipped. Leader of opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha alleged that Nitish had gone on similar Yatras in the past too but his main objective was to enjoy picnics through them. “If Nitish really has the moral courage, he should meet family members of those who died in various hooch tragedies and criminal incidents,”
Sinha remarked.
State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said that Nitish was only doing a ‘political stunt’ by embarking on Samadhan Yatra. He asked Nitish to remove ‘vyavdhan’ (hurdles) coming in the way of development of Champaran before starting his yatra from there. Nitish Yatra is taking place against the backdrop of poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s ongoing ‘Jan Suraj Yatra’.