Bihar assembly: ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chorus in House on day of BJP win

The euphoria over BJP’s show in four of the five state elections resounded in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday, with party legislators signing off the day’s proceedings with the chorus of “Jai Shri Ram”.

The euphoria over BJP’s show in four of the five state elections resounded in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday, with party legislators signing off the day’s proceedings with the chorus of “Jai Shri Ram”.

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal celebrates party’s win in the UP assembly elections in Patna on Thursday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Giving the government reply after the debate on the education department’s budgetary allocation of ₹39,191.87 crore, the largest among all departments, education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said it was a matter of pride for everyone that chief minister Nitish Kumar was the only living leader put in the league of three true socialists, after Ram Manohar Lohiya and George Fernandes, by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi’s recent statement came amid speculation over the likely impact of results of assembly elections in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh on the fate of Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar who currently heads an alliance government in which his party JD(U) is the junior partner to the BJP.

“It is just a coincidence that March 10 also happens to be the death anniversary of Savitribai Phule, a social reformer, educationist and epitome of women’s empowerment. With Nitish Kumar’s emphasis on girls’ education and women’s empowerment in the true sense, which has no parallel in present times, it is apt to recall the contributions of Savitribai Phule, who ignited the sparks of girl education nearly two centuries ago in the face of stiff odds,” Choudhary said.

Shortly after, BJP members shouted “Jai Shri Ram” before leaving the House.

Before him, labour resources minister Jevesh Mishra pf BJP, while speaking on his department’s budget and future plans, also termed the day as historic and congratulated the people of four states for reposing faith in the BJP once again, which evoked thumping of desks from the party legislators.

In his reply, Choudhary also touched upon the issues raised by opposition leaders, viz. shortage of teachers, inordinate delay in recruitment and confusion over the candidates having qualified the secondary teachers’ eligibility test (STET) and said that after 41000 appointments of teachers this months, another 50000 plus were scheduled in the next phase to start soon.

“As far as STET is concerned, the issue is not to mislead innocent students. STET is an eligibility test and it does not guarantee appointment, which is made only through merit list prepared by different recruiting mg agencies. With appointments being a continuous process and STET certificates having lifetime validity, the students need to have patience, as they could be accommodated at some point. There was some delay in recruitment in the last three years due to court issues. The CM’s focus is on having a well-equipped Plus Two school in every panchayat and that will be a game changer in the long run due to growing women’s education, which has a direct link with population control,” he added.

Choudhary said that it was in accordance with the Nitish Kumar’s vision that the government had decided to appoint 40518 head teachers in all primary schools and another 6421 head masters in the higher secondary schools through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for better quality intake.

The education minister also announced that after three-year gap, the Bihar Diwas celebration would be organised for three days from March 22-24. “Education department is the nodal department for it and I urge you all to participate in it,” he added.