Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday unveiled a 15-feet high statue of socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan at his ancestral village of Sitab Diara in Saran district of Bihar. Accompanied by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Shah reached Sitab Diara via Varanasi to take part in the 120th birth anniversary celebrations of Narayan, popularly known as JP. Shah unveiled the statue on the premises of JP’s ancestral house in Lala Ka Tola.
This is Shah’s second visit to the state in two months. Shah’s last month’s visit covered the Seemanchal area of north Bihar which consists of four districts namely Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria. The last month’s visit was aimed to reportedly influence the success of the political party’s candidates in both Assembly and General elections.
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While addressing a rally during his visit, Shah in an apparent dig at the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, said that those who claim themselves to be disciples of Jayaprakash Narayan have sacrificed his socialist ideology to sit in the “lap” of Congress for power.
“JP fought for ideology and no power. But those who do politics in his name have changed sides five times for power and are sitting in the lap of the same Congress against which he fought for all his life. He is power hungry and for power, he sacrificed JP’s ideologies and joined hands with the Congress,” the Home Minister said.
He further said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the poor and the weaker sections of the society, for whom JP was concerned. “This is the reason why the Centre launched Antyodaya Anna Yojna and Ujjwala Yojna, among others. He (PM Modi) is a firm believer in JP’s ideology,” Shah added.
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Shah also credited the Prime Minister for the installation of JP’s statue, a project of the union culture ministry.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who was accompanying Shah, said his government has done a lot for the development of the areas of Sitab Diara that are in the jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh. “JP was a towering national leader, he can’t be confined to UP and Bihar only,” he added.
