Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has moved swiftly on the road to recovery after biting the dust in the recent Assembly by-elections in Bihar.
Within two days after the poll results were declared, Kumar has offered free land to set up a branch of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in his state.
In a letter to Abdul Azis, the vice-chancellor of the university, Kumar has written: “You will be glad to know that the government of Bihar has decided to give 100 acres of land, free of cost to AMU for opening its centre in Kisanganj district. Kisanganj is a Muslim-dominated district with poor literacy figures. The AMU centre would be very helpful in imparting quality education to the students of the minority community and will improve the educational atmosphere of the state.”
The AMU administration has decided to establish five off-campus branches of the university in different parts of the country. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also announced fund allocation for this purpose in his Budget speech in July. Apart from Bihar, AMU will open branches in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Malappuram (Kerala), Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.
In the by-poll results announced last Thursday, Kumar’s Janata Dal United won just four out of 18 seats where elections were held.