For many years, pilgrims from Bihar have visited Hardwar to perform special puja on Mother Ganga. To get the support of all those pilgrims, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has planned an alternative to Hardwar in Begusarai district. Recently, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone to develop the left bank of the river Ganges in the holy place of Simriya Dham. On that occasion, he announced that now pilgrims from Bihar have no need to go to Hardwar. They can perform puja in this place. A special ‘Ganga Aarti ‘ was organised, which will be a regular phenomenon. But the decision of the Bihar CM has opened a new debate on the spiritual importance of Hardwar. Opposition leaders are questioning the CM, saying that he is trying to undermine the spiritual and historical importance of Hardwar. No ghat, however beautifully constructed, can replace the belief in Hardwar. Later, CM had to backtrack from the announcement and say that the bank of the river will be beautified so that pilgrims and tourists can visit this place as a special tourist attraction.
MP electricity board under great distress
To prevent huge losses for the state electricity board, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has launched a unique programme. He had announced that whoever informs the electricity board of any illegal connection will be rewarded with ten percent of the total due amount. After the announcement, some poor people started complaining about the so-called illegal connection. It created a huge problem for the administration, as some of the complaints were found to be untrue. Political party supporters are complaining to the opponent about the illegal connection. The state electricity board started to investigate the facts of the complaint. It has become a burden for the administration to investigate the complaint.
Mayawati to be a NDA partner?
These days, BSP Supremo Mayawati is maintaining a clear distance from the rest of the opposition parties in the country. Earlier, she used to characterise the BJP and Congress as ‘Saapnath and Nagnath’ to maintain a neutral stand about the two national parties. Now it seems she has changed her stand on the BJP. Recently, when most of the opposition parties boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament, Mayawati clearly said that it was improper to boycott the ceremony because of the absence of the President of the country. Before the Loksabha poll, the BJP is trying to rope in many regional parties in the NDA. This was manifested during the inauguration of the Parliament building. Whether the BJP will share Loksabha seats with all these parties is yet to be seen.