- Sunday, May 04, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Outbreak of communal violence in Sasaram in Rohtas district of India’s eastern state of Bihar during celebration of Ram Navami, a Hindu festival, this week, has led to cancellation of a visit to the state by the country’s home minister, Amit Shah.
Shah, who is the second-most powerful leader in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after prime minister Narendra Modi, was set to reach Bihar on Saturday (1) and leave on Sunday (2).
Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary, however, said that the home minister’s visit to Nawada district of the state on Sunday would go ahead as scheduled.
Prohibitory orders were clamped on Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns, headquarters of the state’s Rohtas and Nalanda districts, respectively, following the communal tensions. The district authorities imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code that restricts public gatherings for the sake of maintenance of law and order. Forces were also deployed and top administrative and police officers were patrolling the affected areas, The Hindu reported.
While Shah blamed the government of Bihar led by chief minister Nitish Kumar saying it failed to maintain law and order in the state, the latter refused to admit that there was any problem of law and order but just a scuffle between people, Zee News reported.
Kumar had also taken an indirect dig at Shah ahead of his visit by cautioning people of his state to remain careful about “someone coming from Delhi” and trying to mislead them, a report by India Today said.
Relation between the BJP and Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) has reached the nadir after the latter severed ties with the former to join hands with the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal to form a new government last August.
