With the political temperature simmering every day, the Bihar BJP leaders on Sunday alleged that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be putting all roadblocks to sabotage party’s scheduled Hunkar Rally addressed by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on October 27.
Kumar has invited the President of India in Patna on October 26-27. The BJP has urged the President to reschedule his programme in Patna.
“The people of Patna will be deprived of an opportunity to welcome you whole-heartedly as they would be busy attending the Hunkar Rally,” BJP MlA Nitin Naveen said in a letter to the President.
“People of Patna and Bihar have been preparing for the Hunkar Rally for the past six months and are eagerly waiting to listen to Narendra Modi in whom they see a symbol of development,” he said.
Naveen alleged that there was politics at play in the finalisation of the schedule of the Presidential visit to coincide with Modi’s rally. The Nitish Government has tried to politicise the President’s visit to Bihar about which the BJP came to know from the media.
Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has also accused Nitish Kumar of attempting to sabotage the October 27 rally. “Nkumar is playing all tricks to put hurdles in success of NaMo’s Hunkar Rally on 27th Oct. First permission for whole Maidan was denied. Now Nkumar has invited the President of India to Patna on the same dates. He will be in Patna on 26th & 27th (sic),” tweeted Shushil Modi.
He further said that the whole city would be barricaded for the President’s visit and NaMo’s plane will not be allowed to land till President’s special plane takes off.
State BJP president Mangal Pandey too said that the Nitish Government has been putting all hurdles to put off the party’s Hunkar Rally on October 27 but “the rally will be held come what may”.
“In fact, Nitish Kumar has got scared with the number of crowd expected to attend the Hunkar Rally which is going to be the biggest ever rally in Patna and that’s why he has been playing one trick after another to sabotage it,” he said. “But, whatever happens, the rally will take place on the fixed date,” he added emphatically.
Meanwhile, sources in the ruling JD(U) said that the President’s schedule has been decided by his office, and when Narendra Modi will be holding his rally on October 27 in Patna, the President will be going to Bhojpur to attend a function with lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. He also informed that the Bihar Chief Minister may make a statement on the controversy on Monday.