Patna: A view of Gandhi Maidan prepared for oath-taking ceremony of the Nitish Kumar government, in Patna on Thursday. (Source: PTI) Patna: A view of Gandhi Maidan prepared for oath-taking ceremony of the Nitish Kumar government, in Patna on Thursday. (Source: PTI)
Patna’s Gandhi Maidan is all set to witness one more major political event today when Nitish Kumar takes oath as chief minister of Bihar. Like the city which was at the forefront of the Freedom Movement, Gandhi Maidan has seen Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad addressing massive rallies from.
We pick the top five moments from the illustrious history of the Maidan:
1. Freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia delivered his last speech in 1967 at the Gandhi Maidan. This speech had a profound impact on Nitish Kumar, who got a historic mandate in the recently held elections to run the state.
2. Jaiprakash Narayanan had given the ‘total revolution’ call from Gandhi Maidan. The JP Movement had galvanised people from across the country against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
3. The Quit India Movement of 1942 was launched from this historic ground.
4. On September 27, 2013, a series of bombs went off at a massive rally of the then prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Six people were killed in the blasts. Despite the blasts, the rally continued and Modi addressed the gathering.
5. In the run up to the last assembly elections in Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s Mahagathbandhan had launched its campaign from here.
6. There are five gates to enter the Gandhi Maidan.
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