Tejashwi expresses regret over protester being beaten up by official in Patna

Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Monday expressed regret over the incident involving beating up of a protester in the state capital by a senior government official.

At a hurriedly convened press conference, he said he has enquired about the episode from the district magistrate of Patna who has assured him that the matter is being probed and action will be taken against the guilty.

“Such an incident should have never taken place”, said Yadav, referring to the much-televised baton charge by an additional district collector who kept striking a protester with a stick until the latter fell down and was no more able to avert the blows, using as a shield a Tricolour he was holding aloft, which was picked up and taken away by a policeman.

The protester was part of a several-hundred-strong crowd that had gathered in the heart of the city demanding teaching jobs for those who have cleared the eligibility tests.

Yadav, whose promise of “10 lakh jobs” had propelled the RJD to the status of the single largest party in the last assembly polls, said, “I urge the youngsters, with folded hands, to have some patience. We are committed to fulfilling our promises. But it has to follow some procedures and cannot happen overnight”.

“I have been receiving job aspirants at my residence, many of whom bring presents like bouquets and pens. My Facebook timeline bears testimony to that. I am fully aware of their anxieties. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also made public his intent to provide not just 10 lakh, but 20 lakh jobs and employment opportunities”, said the young RJD leader.

He also blamed the BJP, which has now been ousted from power in the state, for the acute unemployment problem.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who served as the deputy CM for about a decade and a half till 2020, accused Kumar of being “directly responsible for the sad state of education”.

“The CM’s party JD(U) has throughout kept the education portfolio. So the CM should be held personally responsible for the mess in which education is and which is at the root of today’s violence,” Modi alleged in a statement.