Nadda hits out at Nitish over BJP leader's death; kin blame stampede after lathicharge

Patna, July 13 BJP National President J.P. Nadda hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar following the death of a party leader allegedly during a police lathicharge in Patna.

Reacting to the death of BJP leader Vijay Kumar Singh, Nadda said that Nitish Kumar, in a bid to save the charge-sheeted deputy Chief Minister, has forgotten morality.

“The lathicharge on BJP leaders was a failure and anger of Nitish Kumar government. The Mahagathbandhan government is trying to save the fort of corruption and killing democracy,” he said.

Several other BJP leaders, including Sushil Kumar Modi, Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Bihar BJP incharge Vinod Tawre, Vijay Kumar Sinha, and state chief Samrat Chaudhary, also condemned the police action and slammed the Nitish government.

“We were doing a peaceful march on the streets of Patna but the Bihar government beaten us in a pre-planned manner. They put water cannons, fire engines, tear gas, and lathicharged just to beat BJP leaders. The people of Bihar are facing the gundaism of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav. Nitish Kumar, who claims to be a disciple of Jay Prakash Narayan and gained knowledge of democratic values from him, is killing democracy today,” Tawre said.

Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar Singh's younger brother Dilip Singh claimed that his brother died in a stampede that took place after the lathicharge. “I received a call from Rupesh ji who was accompanying my elder brother. He informed me that Vijay Singh died at PMCH (Patna Medical College and Hospital). Vijay fell on the road due to the stampede that took place after the police lathicharge. My brother was the General Secretary of BJP’s Jehanabad district unit and he went to Patna to participate in the protest march on Thursday morning,” Dilip Singh said.

Earlier, PMCH superintendent Indubhushan said that Vijay Kumar Singh was admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital but his life could not be saved. "He was brought to the hospital in critical condition,” Indubhushan said.

BJP state president Chaudhary announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family members of the deceased.

“I believe that Nitish Kumar is responsible for the murder of Vijay Kumar Singh. He deliberately gave free hands to Patna police to initiate lathicharge on BJP leaders which led to the death of Vijay Singh. Nitish Kumar is guilty of the murder and he should be booked under relevant charges of muder in court,” Chaudhary said.