The Bihar bandh called by the main opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal today, coming barely two days after a statewide shutdown organised by the Left parties, thousands of RJD supporters fanned out across the state on Saturday, in protest against the new citizenship law and the proposed NRC.
The rail and road traffic was disrupted while trying to enforce a statewide shutdown in the against the Citizenship Act.
In Patna, hundreds of party supporters – among whom children could also be seen – stormed railway stations and bus stands carrying sticks and party flags but they were chased away by police personnel.
In Nawada, bandh supporters staged a demonstration on national highway 31 where they burnt tires on the road causing disruption in the movement of vehicles while agitators protested at Zero Mile Chowk in Muzaffarpur.
There were reports of bandh supporters squatting on railway tracks in Araria and East Champaran districts.
Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Jitendra Kumar said, “Adequate forces have been deployed in all districts of the state and officials concerned were asked to deal sternly with anyone trying to foment trouble.”
The RJD, after initially scheduling the bandh on December 22, had advanced the shutdown by a day in view of police recruitment tests on Sunday.
Earlier, on Friday night, RJD activists led by leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav had taken out a march in the city holding aloft burning torches to garner support for the bandh, which they termed as “an attempt to save the Constitution from the assaults by the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre”.
“It will be a peaceful protest. But if the state police indulges in any high-handedness, there would be a backlash”, Yadav had said.
Protests against CAA that were earlier confined to the northeast, have swept the country over the past week after several protesters, including students, clashed with the police in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia on December 15.
The amended law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
Protests against CAA that were earlier confined to the northeast, have swept the country over the past week after several protesters, including students, clashed with the police in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia on December 15.
The amended law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
Earlier, on December 19, the “Bihar Bandh” against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) evoked tremendous response in the state with the normal life getting badly affected in many parts of the state. The call for bandh had been given by the Left parties but its impact was impressive given the way the protest received the support of all Opposition parties in the state and also 11 students’ Unions.
The CPI(M) activists squatted on the tracks near Laharia Sarai station in Darbhanga district, affecting movement of trains for some time. In Jehanabad, CPI(ML) activists staged a roadblock on Kako More, disrupting traffic on national highways NH 110 and 83.
CPI(ML) cadres also staged a demonstration close to the block headquarters at Musahari in Muzaffarpur, disrupting plying of vehicles between the district and adjoining Samastipur.