Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Bihar on October 11, in what would be his second visit to the State in three weeks. In August this year, the JD(U) had snapped its ties with the BJP to form government in the State with the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) parties.
Mr. Shah will visit socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan’s ancestral village Sitab Diara in Saran district on Narayan’s birth anniversary on October 11. He is also likely to address a farmers’ meeting at Amnour in the district. Amnour is the ancestral village of BJP MP from Saran, Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
A social media post of State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said, “Mr. Shah will reach Sitab Diara on October 11 to attend a function organised by the Union Ministry of Art and Culture. He will reach Sitab Diara via Varanasi and return the same day.” In the post, Mr. Jaiswal also took a veiled dig at the recent meeting of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his ally Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to discuss Opposition unity. “Many disciples of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, who had cut their teeth during Sampoorna Kranti Andolan (total revolution movement of 1974), are now sitting in the lap of the Congress. For them, appearing in the court (durbar mein hazir hona) of Sonia Gandhi seem to be the greatest achievement,” Mr Jaiswal said in the post without taking the name of any leader. Both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad were said to have been close to Jayprakash Narayan and, like several other leaders, were political products of the total revolution of 1974.
During his recent two-day visit to the State on September 23-24, Mr. Shah had gone to Seemanchal (border) districts of Purnia and Kishanganj. Addressing a rally in Purnia, he slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his “serial betrayal” of people’s mandate in the State. He also attacked Lalu Prasad Yadav over corruption and cautioned him to be alert as Mr. Kumar would betray him again by joining with the Congress Party.
