President Mukherjee cuts short Bihar visit by a day

The President will visit Bihar on Oct 26 to attend a convocation, but will return back to Delhi the same day

President Pranab Mukherjee has cut short his scheduled visit to Bihar by a day possibly because it was clashing with a rally of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Patna.

Mukherjee mentioned his revised schedule to BJP MPs from Bihar Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain, who met him today.

"The President told us that he will visit Bihar on October 26 to attend a convocation, but will return back to Delhi the same day," Hussain said.

Modi will address the BJP's hunkar rally in Patna on October 27. The clash between the President's visit and Modi's rally had become an issue between BJP and its former ally JD (U).

BJP had alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had deliberately invited the President on October 27 as well to scuttle the party rally.

"BJP leaders will be there in Patna on October 26 to welcome President Pranab Mukherjee. It is honour for Bihar to welcome the President on one day and the future Prime Minister of India the next day," Rudy said.

BJP's Bihar unit had charged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with misleading the people on finalising the date of the presidential visit to Bihar.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had said that the party had finalised the date of the rally way back on March 20 and Kumar was fully aware of it.

He had alleged that the Chief Minister was duty-bound to apprise the President of the scheduled political event during his visit.