Rahul Gandhi (left), NItish Kumar (TOI)
Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary on Sunday took a sharp dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of the launch of the party’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, saying he should thank chief minister Nitish Kumar for improving road infrastructure in the state, which made the rally possible, reported news agency ANI.“Rahul Gandhi should thank Nitish Kumar, for the roads that used to be in such bad shape are now so smooth that Rahul Gandhi is even able to take out a Yatra… He should be grateful that such a big Yatra will be possible due to Nitish Kumar’s roads,” Choudhary said, as quoted by the agency.The Congress-led yatra is being launched from Sasaram in protest against the election commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. The party, along with INDIA block allies, alleges large-scale voter exclusion and “vote theft”.Senior leaders including RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Congress president mallikarjun kharge and Rahul Gandhi are expected to participate. Preparations for the event are underway outside in Patna.Bihar leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav, addressing the media on Saturday, said the campaign aims to raise awareness among voters whose names have been excluded from the electoral list. “We are starting the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will all be with the Mahagathbandhan allies. We will visit several districts, and our effort will be to make people aware so that no voter’s name is left out. We also have fought for this and got a relief from the Supreme Court in this matter, whether it is the Supreme Court direction to the Election Commission of India to publish the list of 65 lakh persons excluded or deleted from the Bihar draft electoral voters list, along with the reasons,” Yadav said. Calling the yatra as a “historical journey”, Tejashwi said the Mahagathbandhan would take its message to multiple districts and seek public support. “Tomorrow, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the Mahagathbandhan will go among the people and make them aware of voter rights. Along with this, we will also raise the local issues. We will also convey what our vision would be if we form our government. This is going to be a historical journey, and we will get the blessings of the Bihar voters,” he added.The yatra will begin on Sunday, from Sasaram, Bihar.
