Aanganwadi workers’ protest rocks Bihar assembly; police uses water canons

Patna: Police on Tuesday used water cannons to disperse thousands of Aanganwadi Sevika workers who had gathered outside the Bihar assembly to press their demands, even as ruckus created by the opposition on the issue rocked the House.

Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary adjourned the proceedings till 12 PM, within minutes of commencement at 11 AM, as repeated pleas by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary that the issue be debated after the Question Hour went unheeded.

The Aanganwadi workers have been staging a protest, demanding a two-fold increase in their stipends, claiming that a promise to the effect had been made by Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav during the last assembly polls.

The workers also shouted slogans demanding that they be treated on par with government employees.

When Yadav reached the assembly premises, he was booed by MLAs of the opposition BJP, who were staging a demonstration in front of the main gate expressing their support to the protest.