Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday winded up the ‘Samadhan Yatra’, the weekly public outreach programme as part of which he visited all 38 districts of the state in the course of a month and a half.
He concluded the yatra at the state capital, where he conducted a thorough review of various schemes and development projects in Patna district in presence of his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, cabinet colleagues and top officials.
Earlier, the final day saw Kumar, the state’s longest-serving CM, visiting Begusarai district where besides reviewing the works, he interacted with volunteers of the ‘Jeevika’ self-help groups.
Advertisement
The yatra had commenced on January 4 from Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran district. Kumar has since been keeping a gruelling schedule, sometimes touring as many as three districts on a day. The mass outreach programme, which had very few breaks in between, saw the septuagenarian spending the night outside the state capital on more than one occasion.
Talking to reporters outside the ‘Samrat Ashoka Convention Centre’ here, the JD(U) leader stuck to his stand to refrain from commenting on political issues, insisting that these be “kept for some other day”. “We have done a lot in the long time since I have been in charge of things. But there is always a scope for improvement. Hence, I undertook this yatra, giving it the name ‘samadhan’ (solution). Instructions were given to officials concerned on the spot whenever people flagged a problem. We are committed to doing more, as and when the need arises,” said Kumar.
Advertisement
He also sneered at leaders of the BJP, his former alliance partner which he had dumped about six months ago, for their skepticism that the 71-year-old would be able to pull off the yatra that commenced when the winter was at its peak. “As you all can see I am fine and remained so all through. Let people say whatever they please. I would like to concentrate on my work,” said the CM, who now has his attention focused on the five-week-long budget session of the assembly beginning on February 28.
Kumar, whose Grand Alliance includes RJD, Congress and the Left, refused to disclose whether he would be attending a special convention of the CPI(ML) Liberation here on Saturday, where he, besides his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren and Tejashwi have been invited.
“Keep the question for some other day. Why do you want to know this today?” said Kumar in response to queries of prying journalists. Before the commencement of the assembly session, Kumar is also scheduled to attend a rally in Purnea, a veritable show of strength by the multi-party coalition, on February 25, coinciding with the Bihar visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be addressing a rally in Valmiki Nagar followed by a function in Patna.
