Bihar state police resorted to a baton charge, water cannons and tear gas to quell Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers from marching from Gandhi Maidan to the State Assembly on Thursday in protest at the Nitish Kumar-led government’s educational recruitment policy.
According to media reports, a BJP worker identified as Vijay Kumar Singh died as he succumbed to the injuries sustained during the baton charge.
Talking to reporters ahead of the march, BJP state unit President Samrat Choudhary said: “The party is holding the protest against the state government especially deputy state chief Tejashwi Yadav who had promised one million jobs.”
During the march, the BJP workers shouted slogans against state chief Nitish Kumar and Yadav.
Earlier in the day, two BJP lawmakers were evicted from the State Assembly while posters and placards were taken away from other party members shouting slogans against the state government.
After the BJP lawmakers were evicted, all the BJP members staged a walkout to protest.
Meanwhile, the state government canceled teachers' leave and the Education Department directed the district magistrates to inspect all the state-run schools to check their attendance.
The BJP claimed that such directives were issued to stop teachers from participating in the protest.
Notably, there has been uproar among the teaching job aspirants after the state government amended the Bihar State School Teachers (appointment, transfer, disciplinary action and service condition) Rules.
The amendment in the rules reversed the decision made in 2020 under which only aspirants living in Bihar could apply for the jobs.
The change in the rules made way for applicants from outside Bihar to apply for the vacant posts of 167,000 primary, secondary and higher secondary teachers in the state.