Prashant Kishor leads Vidhan Sabha march by Jan Suraaj Party; police use force

Patna: Thousands of Jan Suraaj Party supporters, led by founder Prashant Kishor, were met with "mild use of force" by police in the Bihar capital on Wednesday while attempting a "Vidhan Sabha march" to highlight alleged failures of the Nitish Kumar government.

The fledgling party had announced that the march would take place around noon, armed with "signatures of one crore people of the state", collected as part of a "hastakshar abhiyaan" launched by Kishor a couple of months ago.

According to Patna Central SP Diksha, they were stopped at Chitkohra roundabout, a few hundred metres away from the Vidhan Sabha premises.

She told PTI, "It is a restricted area where no public gathering or demonstration is allowed. So when a crowd was noticed heading towards the Vidhan Sabha premises, barricades were placed and when they tried to muscle their way through, mild force was used".

Jan Suraaj Party supporters were carrying placards, which highlighted three issues on which the signature campaign was carried out. Among them was the alleged failure of the Bihar government to provide Rs 2 lakh assistance to poor families, despite having announced the aid following the caste survey, which revealed the dire economic condition of a large segment of the population.

The other two issues were three decimals of land to each landless family, another promise made by the government after the caste survey, and alleged massive corruption in the ongoing land survey.

Talking to the reporters, Kishor said, "For the last couple of months, we had been seeking an appointment with the governor and the chief secretary. No response came, which left us with no option but to hit the streets".

"Today, I have learnt that the chief secretary is willing to talk. I am ready to speak to him, but he must give us a time frame in which our demands will be met", said Kishor.

He also seemed upset over injuries sustained by one of his supporters and said, "They have beaten my worker with a stick, despite the fact that we were taking out a peaceful march. Now I dare them to hit me. I am not going to budge. Let them strike me".

The Jan Suraaj Party was founded in October last year by Kishor, who has made it clear that he would like the fledgling outfit to contest all 243 seats in the upcoming state elections, without allying with any other party.