Sharad Yadav rides a bullock cart in Patna to protest fuel price hike

PATNA: Former union minister and Loktantrik Janta Dal (LJD) patron Sharad Yadav on Monday rode a bullock cart near Gandhi Maidan as part of his party’s ‘Raj Bhavan March’ to protest recent hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.

The march, organized by the LJD’s Bihar unit, began for the Raj Bhawan from Kargil Chowk roundabout at around 11am.

Sharad Yadav and other prominent leaders like former Bihar speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary and former MP Arjun Rai were seen riding on a bullock cart as mark of protest against the hike in fuel prices.

However, police stopped the march after it reached near the JP roundabout on the south-western corner of the Gandhi Maidan. As the March was stopped, Sharad Yadav addressed his supporters near the JP statue and criticised Narendra Modi government for its failure to fulfil the promises made to people during the campaign for 2014 general elections.

Soon after Sharad left the venue, his supporters became restive and made an unsuccessful bid to break the police barricade, which was put up to stop them from proceeding towards Fraser Road. Police had to resort to mild lathicharge to control the LJD workers.

“At least seven party members including former MP Arjun Rai received injuries in police lathicharge,” LJD’s state general secretary Binu Yadav told TOI.

He said the LJD workers later sat on a dharna near the JP statute to protest police highhandedness. They also demanded their court arrest from the dharna site. But police refused to take them into custody.

Later in the evening, Sharad and his supporters went to former CM Rabri Devi’s residence and met members of her family.

Courtesy: TNN