Page 9 - Bihar Government

Sushil Modi to be cremated in Patna today, JP Nadda likely to be present

The last rites of senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, will take place around 6 pm in Patna on Tuesday, party sources said. Modi, 72, who was suffering from cancer, died in a New Delhi hospital on Monday evening. "The mortal remains of Sushil Modi will be brought from Delhi to Patna around 11.30 am and taken to his house in Rajendra Nagar. Later, his body will be taken to the Bihar assembly and the BJP state headquarters where party workers will pay their tribute to the departed leader, said a senior Bihar BJP member. The funeral will take place at Digha Ghat Crematorium in Patna, he said, adding, BJP national president J P Nadda is likely to be present. He will be cremated with full state honours, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. Modi served as the deputy chief minister of Bihar from 2005 to 2013, and again between 2017 and 2020. He breathed his last around 9.45 pm at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (A

Sushil Modi shall be remembered for expanding BJP's footprint in Bihar

Arguably the tallest leader the BJP has produced in Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi shall be remembered for patiently working towards the party's ascendance in a state where it is on its way to become a dominant force. Born in a Vaishya family in Bihar, Modi got involved in student politics while pursuing his BSc at Patna University and had played a key role in the Bihar movement of 1974 led by legendary socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, during which he also came in touch with his future collaborator Nitish Kumar and would be adversary Lalu Prasad. He went on to become one of the most prominent leaders of the ABVP, the RSS's students' wing, in Bihar, and often credited his entry into politics to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. According to an anecdote Modi often shared, it was at his marriage ceremony in 1986 that the former prime minister, who at that time headed the BJP, told him that it was time to give up student politics and become a "full time political activist". He made his ...

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Shahabuddin's widow to contest as independent

Former Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary has entered the fray on a RJD ticket from Siwan, the lone parliamentary seat where the party did not formally announce its candidate. Choudhary, who has been a multiple-term MLA from Siwan, filed his nomination papers on Tuesday in the presence of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, son and heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad. Choudhary, who is a few months shy of 70, had lost the Speaker's post in February after he was voted out following a no-confidence motion moved by the NDA upon realignment with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president. The Siwan Lok Sabha seat is currently held by JD(U), which has dropped sitting MP Kavita Singh and announced the candidature of Vijaylaxmi Devi who joined the party recently. The pitch has been queered for both parties with Hina Shahab, the widow of multiple-term former MP Mohd Shahabuddin, filing her nomination papers as an Independent. Following the conviction of her husband in a num

BJP's 400-plus film has flopped on day 1 of polls: RJD's Tejashwi Yadav

Meanwhile, according to the Election Commission, voter turnout in Bihar was recorded at 48.88 per cent in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election

LS polls: 'Modi govt gave Bihar raw deal,' says Congress' Jairam Ramesh

The Congress attacked the Modi government on Tuesday over key issues of Bihar, and asked why has the state not been granted special category status as promised. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister ahead of his poll rallies in Bihar. "Today's questions for PM Modi as he heads to Bihar: Why hasn't Bihar been granted Special Category Status as the PM had promised?" Ramesh said on X. When will the Modi government address the flooding of the Kosi river and what happened to the airports that the PM promised, he asked. "Jumla details below: After 10 years in power at the Centre, and 15 years in power in Bihar, why has the Modi Sarkar failed to deliver Special Category Status in the state? As per the Centre's own Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, Bihar ranked as the poorest state in India, and 52% of the state's population lacks access to requisite health, education and living standards," Ramesh said. In 2013, the Raghuram Rajan Committee ...

Highlights: Andhra CM Jagan Reddy injured in stone pelting incident during road show in Vijayawada

From Uddhav Thackrey's jibe at PM Modi to the evolving Israel-Iran conflict in West Asia, we bring to you the latest news from around the world. Stay tuned.

RJD's poll manifesto promises 10 mn govt jobs, Rs 1 L to poor 'sisters'

The RJD, the largest constituent of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, on Saturday released its election manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, promising 1 crore government jobs and Rs 1 lakh per year to "sisters" from poor families on Raksha Bandhan. Former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, while releasing the RJD's election manifesto 'Parivartan Patra', said the party is making 24 "jan vachan" (public promises) for the 2024 polls, and it will fulfill these commitments. "If the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, the RJD will ensure that unemployed youth across the country get 1 crore government jobs... the process will start on Independence Day this year... it will be like 'berozgaari se azadi' (freedom from unemployment)," he told reporters. "Unemployment is our biggest enemy but the BJP leaders never talk about it. They had promised 2 crore jobs... but we deliver on our promises," he said. "On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan this year, we will start providing Rs 1 lakh annually to o

LS polls: Lalu's two daughters among 22 RJD candidates from Bihar

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Tuesday formally announced its candidates for all but one of the 23 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar where the party is contesting as a constituent of the opposition Mahagathbandhan. Party president Lalu Prasad's daughters - Rohini Acharya and Misa Bharti - are among the RJD nominees. According to a release issued by RJD state president Jagdanand Singh late in the evening, Acharya will contest from Saran which her father had won many times. Prasad represented the seat until his disqualification in 2013 when he was convicted in a fodder scam. Bharti, his eldest daughter who is enjoying her second term in the Rajya Sabha, will try her luck in the Patliputra Lok Sabha constituency. A party functionary said that a candidate is yet to be announced for Siwan where the RJD had for years been fielding late Mohd Shahubuddin. After Shahubuddin's disqualification, his widow Heena could never win the seat. It has been understood that Heena has a strained relationshi

PM campaigning intensively in Bihar as BJP-led NDA is jittery: Tejashwi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday claimed that the BJP-led NDA was "jittery" in Bihar, a reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign in the state was being intensified. Yadav made the remark when journalists drew his attention to the fact that while Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in Aurangabad was scheduled on Wednesday, Modi was likely to address an election meeting in Gaya on April 16. The Lok Sabha polls in Bihar have been staggered across all the seven phases, and Modi has already held two rallies at Jamui and Nawada. While his Gaya visit is yet to be confirmed by the BJP, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, an NDA partner who is trying his luck from Gaya, claimed that the PM has agreed to canvass in his favour. People do visit different places during elections, but it is becoming clear that the BJP is jittery this time. The attention of its top leaders, as also the ED and CBI, which are being used for settling political scores, seems focused on Bihar

Highlights: Oppn missed chances; BJP may win 300 LS seats, says Prashant Kishor

LIVE updates: PM Modi's Madhya Pradesh campaign ahead of LS polls, AAP leaders to sit on a day-long fast at Jantar Mantar, and more. Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

LS polls: Guarantees of Modi troubling INDIA bloc members, says PM in Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a stinging attack on the Congress, charging that its recently released manifesto smacked of "politics of appeasement" and read as if it was brought out by the Muslim League. Addressing an election rally in Bihar's Nawada district, Modi also lambasted AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's objection to his mention of the abrogation of Article 370 during the poll campaign in Rajasthan. "The national president of the Congress does not hold a small post. He says what does Article 370 have to do with Rajasthan. This is the mentality of 'tukde-tukde gang'. His views are an insult to security personnel from Rajasthan, and even Bihar, who died fighting insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and their bodies came back wrapped in the tricolour," said the PM. "The Congress, its Bihar ally RJD and other constituents of INDIA bloc like to talk a lot about the Constitution. Why did they not implement the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Jammu and Kashmi

Ex Bihar Dy CM Sushil Modi 'battling' cancer, opts out of LS poll campaign

Forner Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, and would not take part in the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign. Modi, 72, was named by the BJP as one of its star campaigners for the state and a member of its election manifesto committee. "I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now, I feel that the time has come to inform people about it. I will not be able to do anything for the Lok Sabha elections," he posted on X. "I have told everything to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I will always remain grateful and dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party," he added. During his political career spanning over three decades, Modi was an MLA, an MLC, a member of Lok Sabha, and a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the deputy CM of the state from 2005 to 2013, and from 2017 to 2020. He joined students' politics while studying at Patna University, and became the general secretary of its students' union in 1973. He became an MLA

Ex-Bihar CM, NDA nominee Manjhi owns movable assets worth Rs 11.32 lakh

Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is the NDA nominee from the Gaya seat, owns movable assets worth Rs 11.32 lakh and has Rs 49,000 cash in hand, according to the affidavit filed by him. Manjhi filed his nomination for the Gaya constituency on Thursday. Voting for the first phase of elections in Gaya, Nawada, Jamui and Aurangabad is scheduled to be held on April 19. As per the affidavit, he owns immovable assets worth Rs 13.50 lakh, while his wife Shanti Devi has immovable assets to the tune of Rs 5.38 lakh. In the 2019 polls, the former CM had declared movable assets worth Rs 10.2 lakh and Rs 40,000 cash in hand. Manjhi's movable assets include four bank accounts, two four-wheelers, a double-barrel breech loading (DBBL) gun and two cows. His wife has one bank account, gold jewellery worth Rs 3.78 lakh and silver jewellery valued at Rs 76,500. The affidavit showed he has no self-acquired immovable asset, and owns a

Climate change, tropical diseases: Rural Bihar battle elephantiasis, & more

Far from the world of scientists studying climate change, the twin whammies of altered rainfall patterns and rising temperatures are being felt every day in villages such as Sher in Bihar where lymphatic filariasis and other neglected tropical diseases lurk in dank corners. Climate change, which brings with it floods and droughts, is also leading to more mosquitoes and sandflies and therefore a spike in diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, dengue and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala azar. As the summer sets in, so does the threat of transmission of these diseases with the heat creating fertile breeding grounds for the vectors. Climate change is fundamentally altering vector ecology, favouring the survival and reproduction of disease carrying vectors like mosquitoes and sandflies, said Dr Bhupendra Tripathi, a New Delhi-based scientist. "This phenomenon extends their range and boosts their population densities, thus expanding vector habitats. ...

Bihar Board 10th Result 2024: BSEB Matric result to be announced soon

Bihar Board 10th result is expected to be declared after Holi and is likely to be announced on March 30 or 31 at the official site at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in

Lok Sabha polls: Chirag Paswan's party to declare candidates after Holi

NDA ally Chirag Paswan said his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will declare its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls immediately after Holi. Paswan, whose party has got five of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, also asserted he was "ready for any challenge" that came from his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras. "We will announce all our candidates in a few days... immediately after Holi, Paswan said on Sunday, but evaded a direct reply to the question of whether he would accommodate Veena Devi and Mehboob Ali Kaiser, sitting MPs from Vaishali and Khagaria, respectively. Both the seats, contested by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party in 2019, have been assigned to the young leader's party this time. The MPs had rallied behind Paras when he split the LJP in 2021, but of late have been repenting that decision and swearing their loyalty towards the late party founder's son. Paswan was also asked about the threat by Paras, who has resigned from his Union cabinet ber

1 dead, 9 injured as under-construction bridge collapses in Bihar's Supaul

One person was killed and nine people injured as a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar's Supaul district in the early hours of Friday, officials said. The 10.2-km bridge was being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) over the Koshi river between Bheja in Madhubani and Bakaur in Supaul district, they said. NHAI Regional Officer YB Singh told PTI that 10 labourers were trapped under the debris after the accident. "Unfortunately, one person died on the way to the hospital, and the other nine were rescued with minor injuries. They are out of danger now," he said. "Adequate compensation for the deceased as well as injured victims is being arranged. Experts have been briefed and asked to assess the reason for the accident and suggest necessary remedial measures. Senior NHAI officers have rushed to the site to take immediate action on the matter," he added. The bridge has 171 piers, and the span between piers 153 and 154 collapsed, he ...

Bihar Diwas 2024: Everything about the formation of the state of Bihar

Every year on March 22, Bihar Day celebrates the state of Bihar's formation. The Bengal Presidency's Bihar and Orissa divisions were split off in 1912 to form the province of Bihar and Odisha

Nitish Kumar distributes portfolios, retains Home, General Administration

A day after the expansion of his cabinet, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday allocated portfolios to the ministers of the NDA government. While Kumar retained the Home and General Administration departments, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary has been given Finance and Commercial department portfolios. Another Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha, who is also from the BJP, has been given portfolios of Road Construction, Mines and Geology and Art & Culture departments, a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat department said on Saturday. Nitish Kumar on Friday expanded his cabinet, which is less than two months old, by inducting 21 new ministers. With the induction of 21 new ministers, the strength of the Nitish Kumar ministry rose to 30, just six short of the constitutional limit of 36 for the state.

Enforcement Directorate conducts fresh searches in Bihar sand mining case

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday conducted fresh searches in Bihar as part of a money laundering case investigation linked to alleged illegal sand mining in the state, official sources said. The searches are being conducted in an around Arrah town in Bhojpur district. The premises of a businessman and some linked persons are being covered, the sources said. The central agency last week arrested Subhash Yadav, a man allegedly linked to the RJD, in this case. The money laundering case stems from a clutch of 20 FIRs registered by the Bihar Police against a company named Broadsons Commodities Pvt Ltd (BCPL) and its directors alleging they were engaged in illegal mining and sale of sand without using e-challans. Bihar MLC and JD(U) leader Radha Charan Sah, his son Kanhaiya Prasad and directors of Broadsons Commodities like Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Baban Singh and Surendra Kumar Jindal were arrested by the ED last year and they are currently lodged in jail under judicial custody. A