Veteran Congress MLA Sadanand Singh praises Tejaswi Yadav

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav today came in for praise from senior Congress MLA Sadanand Singh after giving his first reply in the Assembly as a member of the state Cabinet on an issue concerning the demand for repairs on a stretch of a national highway.

Yadav told the House that since the people had given the grand alliance the mandate to work and not engage in feasting, the government would fulfil the demand "within the timeframe".

Singh, a nine-time MLA from Kahalgaon, through a calling attention notice in the Assembly, had raised the issue of the poor condition of the stretch between Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon on National Highway 80. He said that his party MLAs were planning to stage a sit-in on the issue.

The Congress MLA said that a 30-km journey along that stretch takes over three hours due to the poor condition of the road, which has not been repaired despite assurances in the past.

He urged Yadav, who is also the minister of Road Construction Department, to get the road repaired by February- end.

Answering his first question as a minister in the new Assembly, Yadav, the son of RJD President Lalu Prasad, told the MLA, "People have given us a massive mandate to work and not to indulge in 'bhog' (feast). We will get the work done within the timeframe and see to it that you and other members need not go on an agitation."

Pleased with his reply, Singh hailed the energy and commitment shown by the young leader.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not present in the House when the matter came up.

In his reply, Yadav said that heavy trucks ply through the stretch in question towards Jharkhand, creating potholes.

A four-lane road has been proposed for the stretch for the early completion of which the state government will coordinate with the Centre, he said.