Shah arrives, BJP cites Sec 144 for putting off Sasaram event
BJP blamed the Nitish Kumar government for the cancellation of the function at Sasaram, scheduled for Sunday to celebrate the birth anniversary of Emperor Ashoka.
Union home minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah, who arrived in Bihar on a two-day visit on Saturday evening, has cancelled his scheduled function at Sasaram where communal clashes broke out during Ram Navami festivities, state BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters here earlier in the day, Chaudhary said Shah, who will be reaching Patna on Saturday evening, will address party workers in Nawada on Sunday as per schedule.
“With regret, we have decided to postpone Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to Sasaram as district administration has promulgated Section 144 (prohibitory orders) there. Now, Shah will address a public meeting at Nawada only on Sunday,” said Chaudhary.
“The imposition of Section 144 in Sasaram is a clear indication that no large gatherings can take place,” said the state BJP president, even as he blamed the Nitish Kumar government for the cancellation of the function at Sasaram, scheduled for Sunday to celebrate the birth anniversary of Emperor Ashoka.
“It is clear that Nitish Kumar is not in control of the administration. Even Bihar Sharif, which falls in the chief minister’s home district of Nalanda, is in turmoil. So are many other parts of the state,” alleged Chaudhary.
Later, a delegation of BJP, led by Chaudhary, met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and handed over a memorandum, seeking his intervention in the matter.
“Union home minister of state Nityanand Rai had approached the state government with the offer of providing additional forces as per requirement, but the entire administrative machinery seems to be in a state of sleep,” he said. “Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is not able to control the state. See what has happened in his home district and in Naugachia. It seems violence was fanned deliberately and this shows the failure of the government. He has given a message that he does not want to allow anybody else to hold meetings here.”
This is Shah’s fourth visit to Bihar since his party BJP was ousted from power in August last year.
