Nitish briefs Opposition of govt’s action plan to deal with pandemic

PATNA: Chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar on Tuesday apprised the legislature party leaders of the Opposition parties, including Congress, RJD, HAM-S and CPI-ML, of

PATNA: Chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar on Tuesday apprised the legislature party leaders of the Opposition parties, including Congress, RJD, HAM-S and CPI-ML, of the Bihar government’s efforts in tackling Covid-19 pandemic, assistance to the poor and the arrangements following the return of thousands of migrants from different states, while seeking their cooperation.

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Bihar Legislative Assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary had convened the meeting of all the Legislature party leaders from wherever they were at the behest of the CM to discuss the situation in the wake of the pandemic.

This was the first opportunity since the premature adjournment of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on March 16 due to pandemic that the leader of the House had interacted with the Opposition leaders. Disaster management principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit and Patna commissioner Sanjay Agarwal also gave presentations on how the government was handling the pandemic, providing assistance to the needy.

Kumar said that the Bihar government had stuck to Centre’s guidelines and as soon as there was nod for bringing the stranded migrants, arrangements were made. “Whoever wants to return to Bihar is welcome. We will make all arrangements. But everyone should remember that Covid-19 requires utmost precaution . Even a country like the USA is struggling,” he added.

Kumar also answered Opposition’s charges as to why he was not moving around. “I am one CM who has been known for being in the midst of people, but this is no time to do that. My movement may lead to crowding and cause problems. This is the time to maintain social distancing. When the situation demands, I will certainly be out to meet people,” he added.

Kumar said that Bihar government was treading cautiously as most of the infection in Bihar had come from outside. “The cases have crossed 500-mark, but it can spiral fast with slight carelessness. Panchayat representatives have been quite actively involved in creating awareness,” he said, directing the officials to tell the DMs to be in touch with the local MLAs and also provide any information the leaders of Opposition wanted.

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said that the Opposition should extend cooperation in the disbursal of ₹ 12,612-crore assistance from the Centre and state government to the needy through banks and distribution of foodgrains. “There will be no poor in the state who won’t get a minimum of ₹ 3,000 apart from foodgrains,” he added.

The meeting, held through video conferencing, was significant, as the Opposition Congress and the RJD had been consistently attacking the government over the manner in which it tackled the issue of stranded migrants and students.

In place of Leader of Opposition Tejaswhi Prasad Yadav, whose relentless tweets despite absence from Patna has generated a lot of heat, senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui participated in the meeting and urged the CM to keep an eye on ‘communal virus’. “I know you are alert about it. But any room for communal virus to spread will be dangerous,” he added.

Congress’s Sadanand Singh said that officials in the control rooms and administration did not pick up phones to share information. On this, the CM said that he could easily contact him or any of the ministers. Others who attended the meeting included HAM-S president and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi and CPI-ML’s Mehboob Alam