bihar-minister-distributes-blankets-in-summer

In a bizarre incident, Bihar Sports Minister Surendra Mehta distributed over 500 blankets among residents of Ahiyapur village under his Bachhwara Assembly constituency even as the temperature touched around 40 degrees Celsius. The incident has sparked widespread discussions in the media ever since the minister had posted a video on his social media handle wherein he was seen distributing blankets among area residents.

 

Mehta distributed clothes and blankets among around 700 people belonging to economically weaker sections at an event organised at Ahiyapur village in Begusarai district to celebrate the foundation day of the BJP.

 

“The minister honoured the people by handing them over ‘ang vastra’ to mark the party’s foundation day on April 6,” a senior BJP leader stated.

“The beneficiaries needed clothes. We chose the occasion to provide them with traditional ‘ang vastra’. However, blankets were also handed over to the people,” he added.

 

While distributing the blankets, Mehta, who is a BJP MLA from Bachhwara, said the event was held to express his gratitude and honour the people of the constituency.

 

In his social media post after the event, which the MLA later deleted, he wrote, “On the 45th foundation day of the world’s largest party committed to uplift the poor and nation building, we honoured people at Ahiyapur by offering them ‘ang vastra’.”

Earlier, a video of the minister distributing blankets during the peak summer went viral on social media. He had later deleted his social media post after the incident sparked a controversy in poll-bound Bihar.

 

“It is not only Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whose erratic behaviour at public events draws flak from the Opposition, but his ministerial colleague Mehta’s action has created a flutter in political circles,” said RJD leader Niranjan Yadav.

 

The event was an attempt to woo the poor before the assembly poll due in October-November this year. JD (U), a major ally of BJP, however, defended the minister, saying that people were given ‘chadars’ and not blankets as being shown in viral video.