Patna, Aug 31 (PTI) A day after initiating a sit-in over alleged police excesses against his parents, a six-year-old boy continued his protest on Monday, saying he would “break the pride of the government” just as ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi chiselled a hill to make a road.
The boy, Aditya Kumar, became an internet sensation after joining the protests led by Bihar Public Service Commission exam aspirants on August 25, during which they intended to gherao Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhury’s residence over various demands, including a single-tier test for Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4).
Kumar, a Class 1 student, has been on a sit-in at Patna’s Gardanibagh area, alleging his parents were “beaten up by police while he was taken into custody” during the protest.
The police, however, had said that the boy was handed over to his mother, who works as a house help, after being kept at a police station “for his own safety”.
“I seek justice for my parents, and won’t budge from this site until our demands are met. I also want to ensure nobody else’s parents are beaten up like mine were. Just like Dashrath Manjhi broke the mountain, I will break the pride of this government,” Kumar told media persons.
Manjhi, also known as the Mountain Man, carved a path 360 ft long, 30 ft wide and 25 ft deep through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of work which ended in 1982, Manjhi shortened travel between Atri and Wazirganj blocks in Bihar from 55 km to 15 km.
With a copy of the Constitution in his hand, Kumar said, “Can anybody read out to me where it is mentioned in this book that a child’s parents be beaten up just because he joined a students’ protest?” Kumar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet him or post on social media that he “does not want to meet the child of a poor.” “Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds roadshows to seek votes. Why can’t he meet a child then?” he said.
The boy had sought the Prime Minister’s intervention on Sunday also.
A day before initiating his sit-in protest, the boy told media persons that he handed over a letter seeking judicial probe into police excesses to Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar. PTI SUK NN
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