Top BJP leaders and about 500 party workers were arrested here as the party enforced a day-long bandh across the state on Tuesday to protest the ‘betrayal’ by the ruling JD(U).
Several leaders, including former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, state BJP president Mangal Pandey, national leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shahnawaj Hussain and CP Thakur took to the streets to lead the protesters.
Posters of Narendra Modi describing him as the future PM of the country and son of an OBC family were displayed prominently at the Dak Bungalow Circle, where senior BJP leaders squatted on the ground in the scorching sun.
Senior leader Shahnawaj Hussain led hundreds of Muslim supporters on the streets of Patna. The supporters, sporting caps on their head, shouted pro-Narendra Modi slogans.
Shahnawaz Hussain said BJP had been liberal in promoting leaders from minorities, but chief minister Nitish Kumar had humiliated founder members of the Samata Party — Abdul Ghafoor and George Fernandes. Abdul Ghafoor was a former chief minister of Bihar and had joined Samata Party.
The bandh turned violent when supporters of both the parties clashed near the BJP headquarters on Beerchand Patel Road in Patna.
Six people, including JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Singh, were injured in the clashes.
JD(U) workers took out a procession carrying party flags and reached the BJP headquarters shouting slogans against the bandh call.
State BJP president Mangal Pandey alleged that the JD(U) workers had come to attack the party office and misbehaved with women workers. He lodged a complaint with senior SP, Manu Maharaj, who rushed to the spot to monitor the situation.
Cops also recovered a rifle from the vehicle of a JD(U) worker.
There were reports of clashes between the BJP and JD(U) workers from Lakhisarai and Muzaffarpur as well.
The bandh supporters also disrupted rail and road traffic. They squatted on the railway tracks on different routes affecting the movement of trains.
The train services were affected on the Patna-Mokemah route, Patna-Buxar and Patna-Gaya route.
Patna-Dehri-on-Sone Intercity Express was stopped at Nadwa station. The Tatanagar-Patna Express was stranded at Jehanabad station and Katihar-Jogbani passenger at the Katihar station.
In Ara, women BJP activists also joined the protest under the leadership of Kiran Ghai,MLC.
Former minister, Janardan Singh Sigriwal led the BJP workers at Chapra and prevented movement of vehicles on Chapra-Patna highway.
Thousands of trucks were stranded on the highways as protesters blocked roads.
Several leaders, including former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, state BJP president Mangal Pandey, national leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shahnawaj Hussain and CP Thakur took to the streets to lead the protesters.
Posters of Narendra Modi describing him as the future PM of the country and son of an OBC family were displayed prominently at the Dak Bungalow Circle, where senior BJP leaders squatted on the ground in the scorching sun.
Senior leader Shahnawaj Hussain led hundreds of Muslim supporters on the streets of Patna. The supporters, sporting caps on their head, shouted pro-Narendra Modi slogans.
Shahnawaz Hussain said BJP had been liberal in promoting leaders from minorities, but chief minister Nitish Kumar had humiliated founder members of the Samata Party — Abdul Ghafoor and George Fernandes. Abdul Ghafoor was a former chief minister of Bihar and had joined Samata Party.
The bandh turned violent when supporters of both the parties clashed near the BJP headquarters on Beerchand Patel Road in Patna.
Six people, including JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Singh, were injured in the clashes.
JD(U) workers took out a procession carrying party flags and reached the BJP headquarters shouting slogans against the bandh call.
State BJP president Mangal Pandey alleged that the JD(U) workers had come to attack the party office and misbehaved with women workers. He lodged a complaint with senior SP, Manu Maharaj, who rushed to the spot to monitor the situation.
Cops also recovered a rifle from the vehicle of a JD(U) worker.
There were reports of clashes between the BJP and JD(U) workers from Lakhisarai and Muzaffarpur as well.
The bandh supporters also disrupted rail and road traffic. They squatted on the railway tracks on different routes affecting the movement of trains.
The train services were affected on the Patna-Mokemah route, Patna-Buxar and Patna-Gaya route.
Patna-Dehri-on-Sone Intercity Express was stopped at Nadwa station. The Tatanagar-Patna Express was stranded at Jehanabad station and Katihar-Jogbani passenger at the Katihar station.
In Ara, women BJP activists also joined the protest under the leadership of Kiran Ghai,MLC.
Former minister, Janardan Singh Sigriwal led the BJP workers at Chapra and prevented movement of vehicles on Chapra-Patna highway.
Thousands of trucks were stranded on the highways as protesters blocked roads.