Patna, Jul 24 (PTI) Police on Thursday used water cannons to disperse leaders and workers of the Congress, and its students’ wing NSUI, who were staging a ‘Vidhan Sabha march’ to highlight issues including the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The procession commenced from the historical Sadaqat Ashram, the BPCC headquarters, and was stopped at the Raja Pul crossing, barely half a kilometre away, to prevent entry into “restricted area”, a police officer said.
“We had put up barricades at the Raja Pul crossing noticing that a procession was on its way. Some of the processionists tried to cross the barricades and in the ensuing scuffle, a few police personnel sustained minor injuries. Finally, we had to use water cannons to disperse them. A few have also been detained and an FIR is being lodged”, SP, Patna Central, Diksha, told PTI.
Earlier, state Congress president Rajesh Kumar, who is also a sitting MLA, had spoken to journalists, while marching out of Sadaqat Ashram.
He said, “We are opposing SIR from the House to the streets (sadan se sadak tak). The day before yesterday, the Election Commission wrongly struck off the names of 35 lakh voters. As of now, 98 lakh voters cannot find their names in the electoral rolls. As suspected, the exercise is turning out to be a move to wrongfully disenfranchise people in order to benefit the BJP-led NDA”.
He added, “Besides, there are a number of issues relating to the youth which the NSUI wishes to highlight. These include joblessness, which has been leading to migration on a large scale, and question paper leaks during competitive examinations. We wish to draw the attention of the government to all such issues through the Vidhan Sabha march”.
The Congress is the second largest constituent of the INDIA bloc in Bihar, after the RJD, with 19 members in the 243-strong state assembly. The opposition coalition here also includes three Left parties, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M) and CPI. PTI PKD NAC RG
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