Patna, March 23 (IANS) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday commenced the fifth phase of his ‘Samriddhi Yatra’ (Prosperity Journey), continuing his statewide outreach focused on development and public engagement in Bihar.
As part of this phase, the Chief Minister visited Jehanabad, where he inaugurated 88 development schemes worth Rs 70 crore and laid the foundation stones for 73 projects valued at Rs 182 crore.
Addressing a ‘Jan Samvad’ (Public Dialogue) program at Gandhi Maidan, he reaffirmed his government’s commitment to accelerating the district’s development.
“This journey of development will not stop. The path of prosperity will lay a strong foundation for a ‘Developed Bihar’,” he said.
Nitish Kumar also inspected training and production centres run by the Rural Development Department, appreciated their work, visited departmental stalls, interacted with beneficiaries, and distributed financial assistance.
During his visit to Jehanabad as part of the ‘Samriddhi Yatra,’ Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched a sharp attack on former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Addressing a public gathering, Nitish Kumar said, “I went to him, but he could not truly become one of us. When he himself had to step down, he simply appointed his wife as the Chief Minister,” in an apparent reference to the tenure of Rabri Devi.
He further alleged that no substantial development work was carried out during the previous regime.
Highlighting the law-and-order situation of that period, he remarked that conditions were so poor that people were afraid to step out of their homes after sunset.
The remarks have once again intensified the political discourse in Bihar, with the ruling leadership targeting the previous RJD regime over governance and development issues.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister visited Arwal, where he laid the foundation stones for 22 schemes and inaugurated 250 completed projects, further emphasising the government’s focus on grassroots development.
The fifth phase follows the successful completion of four earlier phases of the Samriddhi Yatra.
Several senior leaders were present during the events in Jehanabad and Arwal, including Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, Ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Ashok Chaudhary, and Pramod Kumar, along with MLCs Kumud Verma and Anil Kumar, and Ghosi MLA Rituraj Kumar.
--IANS
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