Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav kickstarts 100-km cycle rally against Nitish govt, rain cuts short to just 35 km

The cycle yatra, which was originally scheduled to cover 100 kilometres between Bodh Gaya and Patna over three days, was called off after covering a distance of 35 km due to incessant rain.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday started a 100-km-long cycle march titled "NDA Bhagao Beti Bachao" from Bodhgaya to Patna. (Twitter/Tejashwi Yadav)

New Delhi: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday started a 100-km-long cycle march titled "NDA Bhagao Beti Bachao" from Bodhgaya to Patna. The march was held to protest incidents of sexual exploitation of women and girls in Bihar. However, it got cancelled midway due to heavy rains that continued to lash the state for the second day. The cycle yatra, which was originally scheduled to cover 100 kilometres between Bodh Gaya and Patna over three days, was called off after covering a distance of 35 km due to incessant rain. Yadav took to Twitter to inform about the cancelled march and said, "I am cancelling the remaining cycle yatra because of heavy rain, bad weather and a forecast of lightning and thunderstorm in the state over the next 2 days."

भारी बारिश, ख़राब मौसम और मौसम विभाग की व्रजपात होने की चेतावनी व आम राय के चलते आगे का साईकिल मार्च स्थगित किया जाता है। बारिश में लगातार 35 किलोमीटर साथ चलने के दौरान मीडिया साथियों के विशेष सहयोग, समर्थन, प्रेम और विश्वास के लिए आप सबों का हार्दिक धन्यवाद।

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 28, 2018

Earlier, the Yadav had gone to Bodh Gaya and paid obeisance to Lord Buddha at the Maha Bodhi Temple before embarking on his cycle rally. Heavy rainfall forced the cancellation of a public meeting which the RJD leader was scheduled to address at the Gandhi Maidan in the town. Scores of party supporters, on bicycles, accompanied the RJD leader who cycled through the streets of Gaya braving the downpour. Yadav pressed an attacked on Nitish Kumar government in Bihar over the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal and slammed the Chief Minister for maintaining a "criminal silence" over the issue on Saturday. The leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly also alleged that women in Bihar were feeling increasingly unsafe and insecure but the government was busy "protecting" the accused instead of bringing them to justice.