CM Leaves for Mauritius Amidst Opposition Protest
Patna: July 25, 2007
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CM Leaves for Mauritius
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Photo by Shashi Uttam |
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Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with a team of 30 members of the Bihar government on Wednesday, left for a six-day goodwill trip to Mauritius amidst protest from the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders who staged a rally outside Patna Airport calling the trip 'untimely and unnecessary' at a time when the entire state was reeling under the current flood situation.
The protestors, led by RJD national spokesperson Shyam Rajak, waved black flags and placards demanding Kumar to cancel the trip. "When the entire state is under the effect of flood and people are rushing to save their lives and properties, the Chief Minister has decided to abandon them and enjoy the amenities of a paradise island," Rajak said.
Also angry at the fact that the Chief Minister's motorcade took a different route to avoid the protesting women along the road to the airport, RJD leader Nihora Prasad Yadav said by doing so, Kumar had shown his utter disregard for the women of Bihar.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, talking to the media persons at Patna's Jai Prakash Narain Airport, said he was carrying the best wishes of 8.5 crore Biharis along with the 'mitti' of Buxar, the ancestral land of the father of the nation of Mauritius Sir Shiusagar Ramgoolam, to promote cultural and business ties with a land that had deep emotional and historical ties with Bihar.
At the airport, the Chief Minister was given a warm send-off by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, State Assembly chairperson Uday Narain Chowdhary, Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Chowdhary, Director General of Police (DGP) Ashish Ranjan Sinha, and a number of ministers, legislators, and senior officials.
Kumar would fly for Mauritius from Delhi on Thursday. He will participate in the 'Bihar Day', an international festival to celebrate Bhojpuri culture, in the capital city of Port Louis, and will meet with industrialists to study the 'sugarcane-based economic development model' of the nation.
"There are a lot of items on my agenda including discussion on opening direct air flight between Port Louis and Patna, investment opportunities, cultural exchanges, and offering full assistance in tracing family roots to Bihar," Kumar said at the airport hangar just minutes before boarding the Indian Airlines flight to Delhi.
The Team Bihar would return to Patna on August 2.
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