Patna (Bihar) [India], July 23 : Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday staged a protest in Patna, warning that his party would surround Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence and the police would not be able to stop them.
Kishor said the Bihar government had promised to give Rs 2 lakh each to 94 lakh poor families, but not a single family had received any money so far.
Speaking to the media during a sit-in protest near the Bihar Assembly, he said, "We want to peacefully give this memorandum of the people to the Chief Minister that in the last 2 years, he had promised to give ₹2 lakh to 94 lakh families, but to date not a single family has received a single rupee."
He alleged that the government had refused to meet his team, adding that the protest would continue until a government official came forward.
"The fight has just begun. Three months are still left... People of Bihar want change and want to remove the corrupt," Kishor said.
He challenged the government directly, saying, "They cannot hide in the assembly and behind the police. We will give them a reply that the whole of Bihar will see. We will surround Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in his home, and the police can't do anything..."
Earlier in the day, tensions rose in Patna after police allegedly used lathis on protesters, injuring a young supporter of Jan Suraaj. Reacting to the incident, Kishor warned the government that his party would make it difficult for the administration to function across the state if their demands were ignored.
He demanded a written reply from the Chief Secretary on the issues raised by his party and said that five senior Jan Suraaj leaders were already in talks with the official.
"If you have hit an unarmed man of Suraaj with a stick, I'm sitting right here. This is a restricted area, try to hit me. We will make it difficult for the government to function in the whole of Bihar... You have hit a boy who got injured in his head... Either the Chief Secretary gives us in writing when they will give us the answers, or we won't move from here," he said.
The confrontation happened as Jan Suraaj workers tried to march towards the Bihar Assembly. Police set up barricades, leading to a brief scuffle and rising tensions at the protest site.
Bihar is expected to go to the polls later this year in October or November, although the Election Commission of India has not yet announced a date.
While the NDA -- comprising the BJP, JD(U), and LJP -- will seek to retain power, the INDIA bloc -- which includes the RJD, Congress, and left parties -- will try to unseat Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The current Bihar Assembly has 243 members. The NDA holds 131 seats -- BJP has 80 MLAs, JD(U) has 45, HAM(S) has 4, and there are 2 Independents supporting the alliance.
The Opposition's INDIA bloc has 111 members -- RJD has 77 MLAs, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2, and CPI 2.