On the second day of the Bihar Assembly winter session, Bhartiya Janata Party workers staged a protest outside Vidhan Sabha against the state Government over the use of water cannons on Anganvadi workers and the caste-based census report. A scuffle broke out between police and Anganwadi workers today while they gheraoed the Vidhan Sabha demanding hike an honorarium hike. Water cannons were used against the agitators to disperse them.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA Tarkishore Prasad alleged that people are beaten up in Patna when they come out on the streets with their demands. “…Anganwadi workers have taken to the streets over their demands but they are being dispersed with the help of water cannons. You might have seen baton action on different employees. This Government is heavy-handed, they don’t care about anybody. Its leader and co-leader want to become the Prime Minister or Chief Minister. They are unable to come out of this and Bihar is burning today…”, he said.
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla also criticized the “Jungle Raj Sarkar.” Slamming the Bihar Government over ‘unfulfilled promises’, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said “Jungle Raj Sarkar under Nitish Babu has now become Lathi Danda sarkar and every democratic protest is met with brutal force”.”Every section of society is protesting & on the streets in Bihar over unfulfilled promises including Youth seeking employment, Kisan, Anganwadi workers and Teachers”, Poonawalla said in a post on X.
Anganwadi workers have been demanding an increase in their honorarium and status of a government employee. The workers said that they have five demands from the state government, of which the status of a government employee and an increase in honorarium is the utmost priority. The Anganwadi workers claimed , the Supreme Court had also directed to give the workers the benefit of gratuity but the Bihar Government was not considering it.
