Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday launched social reforms campaign from the East Champaran district of Bihar and exhorted people, particularly women, to make efforts to eradicate social evils like child marriage, dowry and all sorts of addictions including liquor consumption, saying development has no meaning without social reforms.
This is his 13th yatra since he took charge as the chief minister of Bihar in 2005.
Nitish addressed a public meeting at Gandhi Maidan and declared there would be no compromise on total prohibition and no relaxation on alcohol. He was reacting to the demand of his predecessor and Mahadalit leader, Jeetan Ram Manjhi who wanted relaxation in prohibition laws in favour of the downtrodden. There is total 'no for liquor' in Bihar, Nitish said.
Chief Minister took other social reform measures including no dowry in marriages and eradication of child marriage. He said that he would not attend such marriages where the process of giving or taking dowry is at play.
Nitish said self-declaration of dowryless marriages should be prominently displayed on the wedding invitation cards. He also asked his colleagues in the cabinet and officials to avoid their presence in the marriages where dowry was a consideration.
His social reform campaign was kicked off from Motihari, the town from where Mahatama Gandhi had launched Satyagrah in 1917. During the campaign, Nitish Kumar directed the villagers and the administration of Aanganbadi workers to report cases of child marriages to the police and help prevent such marriages by convincing the parents about the ill effects of child marriage.
His yatra will conclude from his hometown Nalanda on January 15, 2022.
The newlywed Leader of Opposition (LoP), Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has also announced that he would start his month-long Berojgaari (unemployment) Yatra from January 15 next year.
