Patna (Bihar) [India], July 23 : Tensions flared in Patna on Wednesday after police allegedly used lathis during a protest led by Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, injuring a young supporter. In response, Kishor warned the Bihar government that his party would disrupt its functioning across the state if their demands were not addressed.
Kishor demanded a written statement from the Chief Secretary regarding the pending issues raised by his party and confirmed that five senior Jan Suraaj leaders were currently 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 injury 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," Kishor said.
He further added, "The Chief Secretary is talking with the five senior leaders of the Jan Suraaj. We are sitting here peacefully. The police and the government have to bow down. It is about the public, and they have to agree, and if they don't agree, we won't step back. We are waiting to see the outcome of the meeting. Police can't do anything; they have hit one boy. They are saying that this is a restricted area. We are sitting here and telling them to try to hit us...."
The confrontation occurred as the Jan Suraaj group tried to march towards the Bihar Assembly. They were stopped by police barricades, leading to a brief scuffle and rising tension at the protest site.
Speaking to ANI earlier, Kishor criticised the Bihar government for ignoring the plight of lakhs of children working as labourers across the state.
"In this same heat, more than 50 lakh children of Bihar are working as labourers, and the government is not even paying attention. So if we have to wake up the government, then we need to come out on the streets... We are just going, and police can do whatever they want," he said.
Responding to the situation, Patna SP Diksha stated that the protestors were not allowed to move past the restricted area near the Assembly.
"They are not allowed to proceed further from here... This is a restricted area, and they are not allowed to go there. Apart from this, discussions are going on with these people. If they are ready to send a delegation and tell us their demands, we will," she said.