Amid political setbacks in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will enter Bihar on Monday. The Yatra, which is now in Bengal, will move towards Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur district before entering Bihar in the afternoon.
The foot march will enter the state through Kishanganj, a district with a heavy Muslim population, which is also a party stronghold. This is Gandhi's first visit to Bihar since the assembly poll campaign of 2020.
Gandhi is scheduled to address a public meeting in Kishanganj, followed by a big rally in the adjoining district of Purnea on Tuesday and another one in Katihar a day later, Congress legislature party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan told reporters.
Congress has invited the party's alliance partners in Bihar like RJD president Lalu Prasad and CPI(ML)-L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya to the rally at Purnea. Nitish Kumar was also extended an invitation, which he accepted, but his volte-face has now altered political equations in the state.
Meanwhile, Congress continues to seethe at Nitish's 'betrayal' with Jairam Ramesh MP, stating that people would answer him for his act. "Nitish Kumar called a meeting and 18 parties were present in Patna. The meeting was held in Bengaluru, Mumbai. Nitish Kumar was present in all the meetings. He didn't give any hint (that he would break ties with the INDIA alliance). It is a matter of regret that he left our hands at the last moment, this is a complete betrayal of trust and the people of Bihar will answer him soon for this (betrayal)," he told reporters on Monday morning.
However, things don't seem to be going well for Congress in Bihar with reports stating that 9 of the 19 Congress MLAs in the state ditching a meeting called by the party to discuss the footmarch. However, Shakeel Ahmad Khan has played down the absence, stating that only those MLAs given responsibility to oversee the yatra attended the meeting. "This was not the meeting of the legislative party. Nothing Nothing much should be read into it," Khan said.
The start of Nyay Yatra's Bihar stint also coincides with the new Nitish Kumar government's first Cabinet meeting. The meeting held in Patna around 11:30 am will be attended by deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha along with Nitish Kumar himself.
As per reports, a decision on the fresh nomination of the Advocate General may be taken up in the first cabinet meeting. Furthermore, approval for calling the upcoming assembly session is expected to be taken up.