Amit Shah to chair meeting of Eastern Zonal Council in Patna on Sunday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 26th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) in Patna on Sunday, according to an official statement.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and representatives of other member states will attend the meeting.

According to the official statement, several issues like minimum price for a number of minor millets, creation of infrastructure, water sharing, etc, are expected to be discussed in the meeting. Eastern Zonal Council comprises the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

It will be the first time that Shah and Nitish Kumar will share a dais in Bihar after JD (U) dumped the BJP in August 2022 to form the Grand Alliance government in the state.

The Home Minister will arrive at Patna airport at around 1.45 pm and will directly reach the venue (CM Secretariat) of the meeting. The meeting will start from 2 pm and will continue till 5 pm, said a senior official of the state government on condition of anonymity.

After the ECZ meeting, Shah will also hold a meeting with state BJP leaders before returning to Delhi at around 7.30 pm. Security has been beefed up in Patna for Shah’s visit.

The five Zonal Councils (Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central) were set up under the States Reorganization Act, 1956 to foster Inter-State cooperation and co-ordination among the states. They are mandated to discuss and make recommendations on any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-state transport.