Raipur: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday cancelled his visit to Dantewada under Bastar in Chhattisgarh where he was scheduled to flag off BJP’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’, mass outreach campaign ahead of the year-end assembly elections, ‘due to the bad weather’.
Mr Shah cancelled his visit to Dantewada ‘due to the bad weather’, state BJP general secretary Sanjay Srivastav told this newspaper.
Union minister Smriti Irani was scheduled to kick off the yatra following cancellation of Mr Shah’s Dantewada visit, he said.
However, her chopper could not take off at Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar, for Dantewada on time, due to the bad weather, Mr Srivastav said.
She arrived late at the venue due to this and hence, she could not flag off the yatra.
She later returned to Delhi.
Following this, BJP in-charge of Chhattisgarh Om Mathur launched the party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ at Dantewada, Mr Srivastav said.
State BJP president Arun Sao led the yatra.
Former chief minister Raman Singh, BJP legislature party leader Narayan Chandel and other senior state party leaders were present on the occasion.
Speaking to the reporters on the occasion, Mr Sao said that various omissions and commissions of the state Congress government would be exposed during the yatra.
Besides, the party would appeal to the people to return BJP to power in the state in the upcoming assembly elections to ensure development of the state.
A double-engine government, BJP governments at the Centre as well as the state, can alone ensure development of Chhattisgarh and hence, BJP needed to be voted to power in the state in the polls, he said.
The 16-day yatra is scheduled to cover 1728 km in 21 districts before reaching Bilaspur on September 28.
The second yatra is scheduled to be flagged off by BJP national president J P Nadda at Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh on September 15.
The second yatra is scheduled to cover 1261 km in 14 districts before reaching Bilaspur on September 28.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a meeting of party workers at Bilaspur on the occasion.
