Tear Gas, Water Cannons, Lathicharge On Protesting BJP Workers In Patna

Police in Patna used tear gas, water cannons and batons to prevent BJP workers from marching towards the Bihar Assembly to protest against corruption and the government doing away with the domicile requirement for the recruitment of teachers. 

Heavy security had been put in place in the city to prepare for the protest march, which began at Gandhi Maidan. A police official said some of the protesters threw chilli powder at them. 

NDTV's Manish Kumar, who was reporting on the protest, was also caught in the melee and was hit by a water cannon. 

The protest is part of a larger allegation of corruption that the BJP has levelled against the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state. The party has got more ammunition since Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was named in the CBI chargesheet in the land-for-jobs scam on July 3. 

BJP's Samrat Choudhary, who is the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council and was part of the protest march, said, “Nitish Kumar, you can lathicharge all you like, but I will continue to fight against you. The lathicharge is being done by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's goons.”

MP Rakesh Sinha, Shahnawaz Hussain and other senior BJP leaders also took part in the protest march.

Earlier in the day, marshals had evicted two BJP MLAs from the Bihar Assembly and snatched posters and placards from other members of the party, news agency PTI reported. All BJP MLAs then staged a walkout to protest against the eviction of MLAs Jibesh Kumar and Kumar Shailendra. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary slammed the conduct of the BJP MLAs. He said that the government headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is sensitive to the needs of the people and is ready to respond to all issues raised by members. 

“The conduct of the opposition members since yesterday, when they smashed a chair and tried to upturn the table, shows they have no respect for democratic norms. Perhaps, they are desperate realising that their political future is uncertain,” the PTI report quoted him as saying.

The land-for-jobs scam involves people allegedly being given employment in the Indian Railways from 2004 to 2009 - when Lalu Yadav was the railway minister - in return for land parcels being gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family.