Bihar BJP chief blames state govt for violence, arson directed at party leaders

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal on Saturday attacked the Nitish Kumar-led administration in Bihar for failing to control the law-and-order situation and blamed it for attacks on the party's offices and leaders following protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme.

Addressing media persons in Patna, Jaiswal said if things continued in the same vein, then it would not be good for the alliance. "Our party offices in Madhepura and Nawada were attacked in the presence of police forces. My house was attacked, and a cylinder bomb was found there. But the police removed it. This is a conspiracy, and the administration has been a complete failure," Jaiswal said.

"I have never seen or heard of police resorting to lathi charge or tear gas at any place to control the violence in the state." The attacks have over the past three days been directed against several BJP leaders, with their residences and some BJP offices being set on fire by angry mobs. Jaiswal said he had communicated his views to the Bihar home secretary and the Director General of Police regarding the violence.


The JD(U), meanwhile, reacted strongly to Jaiswal's remarks.

"Since the students have been protesting over the Agnipath scheme for the past few days, he (Jaiswal) has lost his mental balance," Lalan Singh, national president of the JD(U) told ET.