Nitish Kumar, Congress to undertake pan-Bihar yatras from January 5

Congress is inspired by its leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra; the Chief Minister will embark on a yatra once again to create awareness on the benefits of prohibition

Both Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the State unit of the Congress party are scheduled to embark on separate yatras across Bihar from January 5, 2023.

Mr. Kumar will begin his yatra across the State from Bettiah, district headquarters of West Champaran district on January 5. Earlier, following the Saran hooch tragedy in which 38 people died, Mr. Kumar, while asserting that drinking illicit liquor was bad and those who drank it in the State would die, had said that he would embark on a yatra once again to make people aware of the benefits of prohibition.

“Yes, I’ll be embarking on the yatra again and the details will be made public in a day or two,” Mr. Kumar told media persons on Wednesday in Patna. Sources close to Mr. Kumar told The Hindu that during his yatra, Mr. Kumar would also create awareness on social evils like child marriage and dowry. The yatra is likely to continue for a month and leaders of ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), along with Ministers of Mr. Kumar’s Cabinet, are likely to participate. District officials have been directed to work on the plan for the CM’s yatra in their respective, an official said.

Since Mr. Kumar came to power in November 2005, he has undertaken several such yatras for different issues. He had first embarked on a “Nyay (justice) Yatra”,  followed by the “Vikash (progress) Yatra”, “Dhanyabad (thanks) Yatra”, “Pravas (migration) Yatra”, “Vishwash (trust) Yatra”, “Sewa (to serve) Yatra”, “Adhikar (rights) Yatra”, “Sankalp (pledge) Yatra”, “Sampark (contact) Yatra”, “Nishchay (to determine) Yatra”, “Jal-Jivan-Hariyali (water-life-greenery) Yatra” and “Samaj Sudhar (social reform) Yatra”.

When asked why he would not be present at the National Ganga Council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata on December 30, Mr. Kumar said there was “nothing unusual in it”. Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav would attend the meeting, he said. “Last time, when such a meeting had happened in Uttar Pradesh, the then Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had gone to attend it as he was looking after the concerned department. This time, Tejashwi Yadav is Deputy CM and handling the department, so we requested him to go. There is nothing unusual in it,” Mr. Kumar told media persons.

Meanwhile, the embattled Bihar unit of the Congress party, apparently encouraged by party leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, has announced it would undertake a similar padyatra (march on foot) from Banka to Bodh Gaya on January 5, 2023 covering as many as 17 districts, including Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Begusarai, Darbhanga and Patna. Party leaders and workers from other districts are likely to converge at the padyatra at different locations, a senior party Bihar Congress leader said.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to flag off the padyatra from Mandar Hills of Banka district. To ensure its success, as many as 25 parliamentary committees have been formed by newly appointed Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president, Akhilesh Singh. Mr. Singh has appealed to party workers and leaders to participate in the padyatra in large numbers. BPCC sources said Mr. Gandhi may address a public meeting when the padyatra culminates at Bodh Gaya. “Besides him, Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi may address a public meeting when the padyatra reaches Patna,” the party leader said.