BJP charges JD(U) with negligence in rescuing pilgrims

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posted on 11 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Seeking to make this a political issue, the friend-turned-foe of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Modi said he would sit on a 24-hour fast in Patna on July eight.

Patna: BJP on Sunday alleged that JD(U) government in Bihar has committed "criminal negligence" by failing to provide proper assistance to pilgrims from Bihar stranded in Uttarakhand, unlike other states including Gujarat. "The state government's efforts towards arranging for medicines, food and transportation for return journey for the pilgrims was woefully inadequate as it had done nothing except belatedly setting up camp office in Dehradun," senior BJP leader and ex-deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said.

This inaction was "outright criminal negligence" and it had hurt religious sentiment of the people who will teach the party a "lesson" at an appropriate time, Modi told reporters. Seeking to make this a political issue, the friend-turned-foe of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he would sit on a 24-hour fast in Patna on July eight. Besides, the state government's failure to provide relief works for pilgrims, the fast would also be in protest against the police firing in Bagaha last week in which seven Tharu tribals were killed, he said.

The senior BJP leader defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for visiting Uttarakhand asking "What is wrong in visiting Uttarakhand and arranging for relief and transportation of the stranded Gujarati people?" Referring to 'Rambo' jibe at Modi by Congress, the Bihar BJP leader said instead of berating him, other chief ministers should have taken a cue and done the same thing by bringing back their own people. He claimed that Kumar held the first meeting on stranded Bihari pilgrims on June 21, five days after the disaster had struck the mountain state.

Taking a potshot at the Chief Minister for his growing proximity with the Congress, which voted for JD(U) government during trust vote earlier in June 2013, he said Kumar should have taken the help of the Centre and arranged for special trains to bring the stranded people back. "All the state government did was setting up a camp office in Dehradun and putting figures of those missing (56) and rescued (611) on the website of the state disaster management department," Modi added.