7 months ago
2
A communicative with a rocky commencement recovered an “unexpectedly” blessed ending successful Bihar.
It began connected August 27, erstwhile Congress person Rahul Gandhi was successful Darbhanga during his 14-day ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ successful poll-bound Bihar, astatine which clip his enactment colleagues organised a motorcycle rally to neighboring Muzaffarpur, 52 km away. Mr. Gandhi’s information personnel, aft having beverage astatine the roadside Maa Durga Line Hotel successful the Shahpur country adjacent Mabbi connected National Highway 27, allegedly took the four-year aged Bajaj Pulsar motorcyle of Suman Saurabh, 21, the proprietor of the hotel. The two-wheeler was ne'er returned, sending Mr. Saurabh connected a hopeless hunt for the “traceless” vehicle. “My lifeline was abruptly snapped,” Mr. Saurabh told The Hindu, recalling helium knocked connected each imaginable doorway but to nary avail.
“I was asked to spell to antithetic places — Sitamarhi, Motihari, and Dhaka (in East Champaran district). I rented a car and had to walk astir ₹25,000. I contacted respective section Congress, RJD, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enactment members, but received nary wide response. I was precise anxious. Congress person Madan Mohan Jha suggested I record a constabulary ailment astatine the section Mabbi constabulary station, saying my motorcyle had been stolen. Finally, exhausted with moving from pillar to post, I contacted immoderate section societal media persons, who highlighted the story, and it perchance came to the announcement of Rahul Gandhi-ji,” Mr. Saurabh said.
Rahul Gandhi’s information personnel, aft having beverage astatine the roadside Maa Durga Line Hotel successful Shahpur, allegedly took the Bajaj Pulsar motorcyle which belonged to Mr. Suman, who is besides the proprietor of the hotel. | Photo Credit: Amarnath Tewary
Three days later, helium received a telephone from Chhattisgarh Congress MLA Devendra Yadav, who was camping astatine a Patna edifice for the closing ceremonial of Mr. Gandhi’s yatra connected September 1. “He asked maine to travel to Patna by 7 a.m. connected September 1 to instrumentality the keys of a caller motorcycle from Rahul Gandhi-ji,” Mr. Saurabh said.
Editorial War cry: On the Opposition’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ successful Bihar
Mr. Saurabh, on with his begetter Anil Kumar Rai and others, rented a car again, and reached Patna connected time, where, astatine the Ambedkar statue adjacent Patna High Court, Mr. Gandhi met him and handed implicit the keys to a caller Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle, which helium collected from a store successful the Boring Road country of the State capital.
“I was thrilled arsenic thing unexpected and unprecedented had happened to me. I was getting the aforesaid caller motorcycle, and that excessively from the person of a governmental party, of Rahul Gandhi’s stature. I americium thankful to Rahul Gandhi-ji for knowing my concern. The motorcycle costs much than ₹1.5 lakh, which is simply a large sum for me, and I received a caller bike,” helium said, adding, “Only the colour of the conveyance changed. Earlier, my motorcycle was a premix of achromatic and blue, and this 1 is achromatic and red.”
The Congress enactment aboriginal shared a video of the gathering connected its societal media handle.
“I volition ballot for the RJD candidate,” Mr. Saurabh said, erstwhile asked astir his penchant arsenic a voter.
Mr. Saurabh clarified his household had ever been RJD voters, erstwhile asked if helium would ballot the RJD’s sitting three-term MLA Lalit Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan campaigner from the Darbhanga agrarian constituency, due to the fact that the party’s ally, Mr. Gandhi, had secured a caller motorcycle for him.
‘I person been a elector of RJD, adjacent my household has voted for the enactment for agelong — motorcycle oregon nary bike!’” helium said.
Mr. Saurabh belongs to the Yadav Other Backward Class (OBC) community. Yadavs comprise 14.26% of the full colonisation successful the State, according to the 2022 Bihar Caste-Based Survey Report.
He works astatine a Samsung showroom successful the Muriya locality, astir 8 kilometres from the roadside eatery helium opened for a rent of ₹15,000 “just fewer months ago” to amended his income. His father-in-law, Pritam Rai, usually supervises enactment astatine the hotel, and Mr. Saurabh stops by for a mates of hours successful the greeting and evening each day. His older member is simply a teacher.
“We are each blessed now,” helium said, smiling impishly with his caller vehicle, which helium takes pridefulness successful driving to work, and to the hotel, wherever helium checks the relationship books astatine the extremity of each day.
Darbhanga goes to the polls successful the archetypal signifier of the Bihar Assembly predetermination connected November 6. The effect volition beryllium declared connected November 14.
