Patna, Aug 12 (IANS) The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will organise a march to the Raj Bhavan in Patna on August 19 to protest the alleged lathi‑charge and firing during student demonstrations over examination irregularities.
The march will be led by RJD National Working President Tejashwi Yadav, with party MLAs, MLCs and workers expected to participate. It will begin from the RJD office on Veerchand Patel Path and proceed towards the Raj Bhavan.
Tejashwi announced the programme in Delhi after a meeting with RJD MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Addressing the media, he questioned the government’s response to the students’ grievances and demanded clarity over the circumstances surrounding the alleged firing with an AK‑47 rifle in Siwan. He asked who was responsible for the decision that resulted in police using firearms during the protest.
He criticised the authorities for suspending a lower‑ranking constable while, according to him, failing to establish accountability at senior levels. Tejashwi demanded answers from senior officials and questioned why the SP had not been suspended.
He said that the RJD delegation had met the DGP, who had assured them that action would be taken, but alleged that no adequate action had followed.
Tejashwi accused the government of allowing a “police raj” to prevail in Bihar and said his party would oppose any attempt to turn the state into a police state.
He also criticised the government’s response after students were injured, claiming that neither Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary nor the Deputy Chief Ministers visited the injured students or enquired about their condition. He called on the Chief Minister to apologise for the incident.
Tejashwi said Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav had also raised the issue concerning the students in Parliament. He added that the RJD had spoken to leaders of several opposition parties and urged them to visit Bihar and support the students’ demand for justice.
According to him, the incident should not be allowed to pass without accountability. He argued that establishing responsibility would be important to ensure that similar action is not taken against protesters in the future.
The August 19 march is expected to bring the issue back to the centre of Bihar’s political debate. Tejashwi said the people of Bihar were angry with what he described as an incompetent government. He insisted that the RJD would continue raising the students’ concerns until accountability is established.
–IANS
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