NSUI Clashes with Patna Police Amid Protest Over Bihar Voter List Revision, Workers Detained

NSUI workers protesting against the SIR voter list exercise in Bihar faced police action and were detained in Patna.

NSUI workers being sprayed with water cannons during their protest against the SIR exercise in Patna, Bihar.

Source : PTI

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 24 (ANI): Workers of Congress-affiliated National Student Union of India (NSUI) protested against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar on Thursday. The workers were subsequently sprayed with water cannons and detained in Patna while trying to move the barricades set up by the police.

Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, present at the protest, slammed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led state government for being unable to provide answers over rising unemployment, saying that the state has descended into "a situation of anarchy and lawlessness."

"The youth are asking for jobs and employment and are against migration. There is a situation of anarchy and lawlessness in Bihar. The government is unable to give answers and explanations so now the Congress is left with no option but to protest," the Congress leader told ANI here.

Patna's Additional District Magistrate - Law and Order (ADM) Govind Pandey, also present at the site of the protest said that the road needs to be cleared otherwise, school buses will be blocked, pointing out that an ambulance is already stuck in the back due to the protest.

"The area is such that it is time for school buses to come, there no permission or anything. We need to clear the road, the school buses and an ambulance is blocked at the back, if you see...Everyone is getting detained," Patna's ADM told ANI.

During the protest, NSUI workers were seen pushing against the barricades set up by the police, trying to climb on top of them while water cannons are being sprayed. Amid heavy police presence, officials held down the barricades and tried to push back any authorized protestors who managed to break through the barricades and organising a sit in at the spot.

Earlier today, Opposition leaders of the state held a protest in front of the Bihar Assembly over the issue of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the state elections, to be held in later this year.

Bihar elections are expected to be held later this year in October or November; however, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced an official date.

In Delhi too, the INDIA bloc staged a protest at Parliament premises for the fourth consecutive day, with MPs gathering at Makar Dwar and called for a stop to the exercise. (ANI)

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)