Bihar deputy CM forced to stop campaign speech

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had to abruptly stop his campaign speech at Turkaulia in East Champaran district and move to another venue after authorities demanded to see the permission letter for holding the meeting at a school ground on Wednesday.

Modi was scheduled to address the meeting at the grounds of a government high school at Turkaulia to canvass for Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Krishnanandan Paswan and had arrived as per schedule by helicopter from Patna.

Block Development Officer Ram Pravesh asked Paswan to show the permission letter from the authorities for holding the meeting during school hours.

Modi had to move to another venue while Paswan's agent Anil Rai turned up with the permission letter from Areraj sub-divisional officer V K Pandey before the deputy CM was allowed to continue his speech.

Pandey later told PTI that he had cancelled the permission granted for the meeting on the ground that no meeting could take place during school hours and informed Modi about it at the venue.

The notification cancelling the permission granted to Modi for holding the meeting had failed to reach the BDO, he said. "Modi heard me patiently and stopped his speech. He then took off to another venue for campaigning," Pandey said.