When Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had to borrow Rs 5 for bus fare

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had to borrow Rs 5 on Wednesday when a woman bus conductor asked him for fare.

Just before flagging off a fleet of new city buses to be run under the AMRUT scheme, Nitish went inside one of the buses to check its seats, leg space and other interior. As he entered into a ‘Woman Special’ bus and took a seat to check its comfort level, the woman conductor approached him with a hand-held ticket vending machine and asked for Rs 5, the minimum fare.

An official present in the bus said, as the CM generally steps out of the home without any money in his pocket, he began searching both pockets when the conductor handed him a printed ticket. Observing the CM’s helplessness, the principal secretary (UDHD) Amrit Lal Meena (who was also in the bus) came to his rescue and paid Rs 5 to the conductor on his behalf.

Later, Nitish while speaking at the programme for launch of 141 new buses said how Meena saved him by paying the bus fare of Rs 5.

Sources in JD(U) said it was not for the first time that Nitish had to search his pockets for money. A few years ago, a senior JD(U) leader had to pay the CM’s renewal fee for his party membership. Prior to that, when Nitish contested the assembly election in 1985 from Harnaut assembly seat, he had to persuade his wife to give him some money from her savings to meet the election expenses, a JD(U) leader said.

Addressing the function, Nitish later suggested the transport department’s principal secretary to run more special buses for women in different parts of Bihar. He also asked to ensure that such women special buses are run by the woman drivers. “If a woman will run the bus, it will instill confidence among other women. Women are already running homes, why can’t they run a bus?” Nitish said in lighter vein.