Nitish Kumar's Last Cabinet Meeting Turns Emotional; He Assures Ministers Of Continued Guidance

Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s last cabinet turned into an emotional occasion as he informed his ministers about his decision to resign later in the day. They all expressed gratitude with folded hands and moist eyes for developing Bihar, while he thanked them for their cooperation.

Though the meeting was to start at 11 AM, it began a few minutes late and lasted barely 15 minutes. Nitish informed the Council of Ministers about his decision to resign from the post of the chief minister. The ministers, in turn, unanimously passed a resolution to thank him for his massive contributions towards the development of Bihar.

Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the member of the Rajya Sabha after he was elected from Bihar. "Nitish ji expressed his gratitude to his cabinet colleagues, the people of the state, officers and employees. It was a very emotional moment as he shared his feelings. Everybody present at the meeting became emotional and expressed their gratitude with folded hands," Bihar agriculture minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Kripal Yadav said after the cabinet meeting.

Bihar cabinet ministers seeing off Nitish Kumar at the state secretaria (ETV Bharat)

Senior Janata Dal (United) (JDU) leader and food and consumer protection minister Leshi Singh described the last cabinet meeting chaired by Nitish as an emotional moment for her and entire Bihar.

"I have been associated with him since 1995. He has been like our guardian. I feel proud to have worked with him. He brought social change, empowered women, and developed Bihar so much. He asked us to continue working for the state. He explained his decision to stay in Delhi and work for Bihar from there. He has assured us of his guidance from there," Leshi said.

Nitish and the Council of Ministers posed for group photographs after the cabinet meeting, after which he returned to his residence. The regular briefing scheduled for media persons was abruptly cancelled.

Nitish Kumar and his cabinet colleagues pose for a group photograph (ETV Bharat)

Bee Attack

Earlier, a swarm of bees attacked chief minister Nitish Kumar and his entourage of ministers on Tuesday while he was paying floral tributes to B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary before going to chair his last cabinet.

Nitish had set out from his official residence at 1, Aney Marg along with Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary to attend the cabinet meeting. As per the schedule they stopped at Ambedkar’s statue near the Patna high court to pay tributes and waited for Bihar governor Lieutenant General (Retired) Syed Ata Hasnain to arrive for the function.

Suddenly, a swarm of honeybees attacked the people present there while the programme was going on and leaders were paying tributes to Ambedkar. They started stinging everyone, causing a stampede-like situation on the spot.

Security personnel covered Nitish and moved him to safety though several senior officers present on the occasion were stung by the bees. Some of them required medical attention.

The programme was stopped midway and the venue was vacated, while Nitish, Samrat, another deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha and other ministers proceeded for the cabinet meeting.

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