Bihar officials, Ravi Shankar Prasad pays tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan

Rich tributes were paid to Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan at a number of functions held at various places in Bihar which were attended by Governor Lalji Tandon, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, among others. 

Prasad visited the Mahila Charkha Samiti in Kadam Kuan locality of the city an organization devoted to imparting knowledge of arts and crafts among females with which JP himself and his wife Prabhavati Devi were closely associated with and announced a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh. 

"Whatever I am today, I am because of JP. The JP movement of the 1970s had inspired me to take an active part in public life. I have always striven to live by the ideals he epitomized, Prasad told reporters on the occasion. I am making a humble contribution of Rs 50 lakh, drawn from my MPs fund, as a token of respect for the Loknayak" he said. 

The veteran leader popularly referred as JP was born on October 11, 1902, and died on October 8, 1979. 

The Bihar Governor paid a visit to Sitab Diyara, the ancestral village of Narayan a part of which falls in Saran district of Bihar and rest in the side of Uttar Pradesh. 

Accompanied by local BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy besides some parliamentarians from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, the Tandon garlanded a statue of the Loknayak. 

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of all state universities, announced that a Chair named after Jayaprakash Narayan would be set up at the Jayaprakash University in Chhapra the district headquarters. 

Earlier, the Governor also garlanded a statue of JP at the Income Tax roundabout in Patna where he was joined by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav among others.

(With inputs from agencies.)