A file photo of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that his state government won't be able to bring back home students stranded in Kota, who have found themselves stuck in the western state since the lockdown began on April 25. During a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, which was attended by other chief ministers as well, the Janata Dal (United) President suggested that unless the Centre revised its guidelines on inter-state movement, it wasn’t possible to implement such a move.
"Our students are not just in Kota but in other parts of the country as well. It won't be possible to bring them all back unless Centre revises its guidelines," Kumar is learnt to have said during the conference call.
The remarks came even as several other state governments, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab’s among others, have called back their students from Kota by sending hundreds of buses.
Nitish Kumar had been critical of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's decision to send buses to Kota, as he had warned that such a decision amounted to "injustice" to the principles of lockdown.
“Special buses are being sent to ferry students from Kota… it is injustice with the principles of lockdown,” Kumar has said earlier this month.
Approximately 8,000 students from Bihar are estimated to be studying in engineering and medical institutes in Kota.
