Modi visits blast victims in Patna, says it’s not politics

Guj CM salutes people of Bihar; bad weather forces him to cut short trip

PATNA: The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, visited the homes of four Patna blast victims on Saturday and spoke on phone with the families of the other two after bad weather forced him to cut short his condolence tour.

Boarding his helicopter three hours behind schedule due to poor visibility at Patna airport, the Gujarat strongman landed in the district’s Kamarji village around 10am. He spent 10 minutes with the family of Rajnarain Singh — who had gone to the rally without telling his family — even putting a consoling hand on his grieving son’s shoulder. As he left in a blanket of security, the villagers hailed him as “India’s next PM”.

Modi’s next port of call was t he home of f ar mer Vikas Kumar Singh in Nisija village of Kaimur district, where he spoke with the blast victim’s wife Beena Devi, 25, and father Meghnath Singh. Beena Devi asked for a government job for herself and money to educate her eight-year-old son and sixyear-old daughter. “My late hus- band was the only earning member of this family,” she wept.

In Begusarai (north Bihar), Modi travelled three kilometers by road from the BJP block office to reach the home of Bindeshwari Choudhry in Bariyarpur village. His last stop was Rajesh Kumar’s Ahiyapur village in Nalanda district. He was received warmly at each of the four homes, where he handed over cheques for R5 lakh each — matching the compensation given by the Nitish Kumar government. He also promised to “look into” the various demands of the families, Bihar BJP chief Mangal Pandey said.

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PTI PHOTO Narendra Modi consoles the family members of Rajnarain Singh, a victim of the Patna serial blasts, on Saturday.