Patna, Nov 3 (NationPress) Bhagirath Manjhi, the son of Bihar’s renowned mountain man Dashrath Manjhi, revealed on Monday that it was Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who recognized and celebrated his father's incredible achievement of carving a road through a mountain. Bhagirath expressed his eternal gratitude for this acknowledgment.

He also reminisced about his encounter with the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who facilitated the construction of a pucca house for his family, yet he voiced his disappointment over not receiving a Congress ticket despite prior assurances.

In a special conversation with IANS, Bhagirath stated, “The individual who brought my father Dashrath Manjhi's contributions to the forefront was Nitish Kumar. It was due to him that my father’s legacy was recognized.”

Upon being asked about Rahul Gandhi’s support, he mentioned, “I met Rahul Gandhi for the first time not long ago. I was not familiar with him before.”

Significantly, the son of the mountain man was courted by the Congress party ahead of the elections and was promised a candidacy for the Bihar polls, a claim Bhagirath continues to assert while expressing dissatisfaction over the denied opportunity.

“I told Rahul Gandhi that if I don’t receive a ticket, there would be severe backlash. I also communicated that I would face criticism for aligning with the Congress,” he stated, his tone reflecting discontent with the historic party.

Nonetheless, he expressed gratitude to Rahul for the pucca house built for his family, revealing that he was unaware of this development in advance, neither from the Congress MP nor anyone else.

“About a week after meeting Rahul, engineers came to my village and constructed a house for my family, which includes four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen,” he elaborated.

Reflecting on their meeting, Bhagirath noted that Rahul engaged closely with him, even sitting on his cot and sharing coconut water.

Notably, Dashrath Manjhi, famously known as Bihar's mountain man, carved his name in history and serves as an inspiration for future generations.

Dashrath Manjhi, a resident of Gehlaur village near Gaya, single-handedly created a path that is 110 meters long (360 feet), 9.1 meters (30 feet) wide, and 7.7 meters (25 feet) deep through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel, according to official records.

His tireless efforts reduced the travel distance between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya from 55 km to just 15 km.