High-voltage drama unfolded in Patna on Tuesday when Anganwadi protesters gheraoed the Vidhan Sabha demanding an honorarium hike. The Bihar police used water cannons to disperse the agitators. In the chaos, an Anganwadi worker fainted as the police continued lathicharges and water cannons against the workers.
Protestors raised slogans against the chief minister Nitish Kumar’s government, demanding an honorarium hike.”Who can survive on Rs 5000?”. This is how we are treated when we ask for our rights. Unless we get paid like a government worker, we won’t stop protesting”, one of the protestor said. Justifying the use of water cannons on agitators, RJD MP Manoj Jha said, “In a democracy, everyone has the right to put their demands in front of the government and the government should also pay attention to their demands. The use of water cannons is the least a government can do against the protesters. The current Bihar government takes the demands of the people seriously and discussions”.
The use of water cannons against the protesters drew huge criticism from the opposition. Slamming the Bihar Government over the ‘unfulfilled promises’, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla “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 benefit of gratuity but the Bihar Government was not considering it.
