Movement of trains was disrupted across the State when thousands of BJP leaders and workers sat on the tracks as a part of their rail roko stir called to protest denial of special category status to the State by the UPA Government at the Centre.
Along with hundreds of party supporters and leaders, senior State BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Shushil Kumar Modi, leader of Opposition in the Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav and State party president Mangal Pandey sat on the railway tracks at Sachivalya halt in Patna which halted movement of several trains in the State.
“The Centre is discriminating against a poor and backward State like Bihar in the grant of special category status and package to spur its development”, Modi said before being detained by the police. He also said that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has already promised to provide special package as well special category status to Bihar if he comes to power.
later, all the senior BJP leaders along with their supporters were detained and taken to the nearest police station. later, they were released and said that their proposed stir was successful against the denial of special status to Bihar by the UPA Government. Earlier, the BJP leaders had appealed to the people of the State not to travel by trains on Friday as the party has already declared its plan to disrupt train movement.
The BJP leaders and supporters also stopped trains at Darbhanga, Bettiah, Kaimur, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and other parts of in the State. The BJP leaders, however, had also appealed to the railway authorities to stop trains’ movement in the State during the day to avoid inconvenience to the passengers. Reports suggested that movement of several long distance trains like Sampark Kranti, Darbhanga-Sikandrabad Express, Darbhanga-Samastipur Express were halted at Darbhanga railway station for a long time.
Hundreds of protesting BJP supporters were also detained in Nawada when they were out on the tracks to disrupt the train services. Senior State BJP leader Giriraj Singh was protesting in Muzaffarpur along with hundreds of party supporters which had halted movement of trains in the district. “It was a common demand of the BJP and the JD(U) but Nitish Kumar, without taking any other party into confidence, tried to hijack the issue and declared Bihar bandh on March 2. So we, too decided to protest separately for the special status to the State,” said Giriraj Singh.
“If Seemandhra can get it (speacial status), why not Bihar,” asked a BJP MlA Asha Sinha while joining the protest. Though the party leaders said that they had ensured that passengers would not have to face any inconvenience during the stir but reports of some scuffles between the BJP workers and some students came in from Masauri and Rajendra Nagar railway station.
Meanwhile, the JD(U) supporters too took out a mashal julus in the State demanding the special status. The Bihar Chief Minister had earlier appealed to his party leaders and supporters to take out the mashal julus on Friday evening across the State to press the demand for special status. The party has given a bandh call on March 2 over the same issue.