Party leaders have alleged that Vijay Singh died of injuries he suffered in a "brutal" lathi charge
The BJP on Thursday lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the death of a party leader during a protest in Patna, saying this will prove to be the "last nail in the coffin" of the mahagathbandhan government in the state.
BJP's Jehanabad district general secretary Vijay Singh died while taking part in a "Vidhan Sabha march" organised by the party against the Nitish Kumar government. Party leaders have alleged that Vijay Singh died of injuries he suffered in a "brutal" lathi charge by police.
In a statement, however, the district administration in Patna refuted the charge, saying Vijay Singh, a resident of Jehanabad district, was "found unconscious by the roadside".
Taking to Twitter, BJP president JP Nadda hit out at the Bihar government over the police lathi charge and alleged that the Bihar chief minister has forgotten his morality in order to save his deputy Tejashwi Yadav against whom a chargesheet has been filed by the CBI in a land-for-job scam case.
"The lathi charge on BJP workers in Patna is the result of the failure and nervousness of the state government," Mr adda said in a tweet in Hindi.
"The grand alliance government in Bihar is attacking democracy to save the citadel of corruption. The chief minister of Bihar has even forgotten his morality in order to save the person who has been charge sheeted," the BJP chief said.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh condemned the "highhandedness" of the Nitish Kumar government and alleged that there is no democracy left in Bihar. "Death of democracy in Bihar," he tweeted.
"Jehanabad BJP general secretary Vijay Kumar Singh passed away after lathi charge by cops. BJP MLA Jeevesh Mishra was thrown out of assembly and police lathi charged senior citizen BJP MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal too," Mr Santhosh said.
"Condemning the highhandedness in the strongest words," he tweeted.
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Vijay Singh died after being beaten with sticks by Bihar Police personnel during a protest march taken out in a "democratic way" by the party in Patna.
"I am shocked to hear this news," Prasad said in a tweet in Hindi, and asked that "will there be death in return for raising the voice of the people in a peaceful manner?" "Nitish Babu, what have you become in the new company?" he tweeted. Vijay Singh's death will not go in vain, "this will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of this 'lathbandhan' government", the BJP leader said.
BJP in-charge for Bihar Vinod Tawde termed the police action against party workers as "open hooliganism" and said the people of Bihar are today facing the "goondaraj of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav".
He also alleged that use of force by police on BJP workers was "pre-planned" by the state government.
"Nitish ji, who took lessons on democracy from Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan ji, is acting against democracy. The Nitish Kumar government has become irresponsible, directionless and autocratic. This mahagathbandhan government has completely abandoned the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and Jayprakash Narayan," he said. Tawde expressed grief over the death of Vijay Singh and said it will prove to be "the last nail in the coffin of the mahagathbandhan government" in Bihar Union Minister Giriraj Singh, BJP MP from Bihar's Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, hit out at Nitish Kumar and held him "directly" responsible for Vijay Singh's death.
"Nitish Kumar ji has taken the path of Mamata didi (TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee). Nitish Kumar is directly responsible for the death that took place in a barbaric attack on BJP workers who were protesting democratically. Jehanabad BJP district general secretary Vijay Singh was murdered by an arrogant Nitish Kumar," he said.
Taking to Twitter, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asked the chief minister "if use of lathis and tear gas shells on people, evicting those from the House (assembly) who raise the voice of the people, lathicharge and death (in lathi charge) is good governance".
The lathi that took the life of the BJP's Jehanabad district general secretary is the culmination of the "undemocratic character and shamelessness" of the Bihar government, he charged in a tweet in Hindi.
"The uncle-nephew alliance, drowned in the greed of power and position, can only give the poison of hooliganism and casteism, not education and employment," he said.
Alleging that Vijay Singh was "killed" by police in lathi charge during a "peaceful protest" by the party workers, BJP chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said the time has come to “uproot” the “inhuman and power-hungry” government of JD (U)-RJD-Congress combine in Bihar.
“Brutal lathi charge and ruthless murder of an innocent party worker by the arrogant JDU-RJD-Congress government on peaceful protest of the BJP in Patna has brought shame to democracy on the soil of Bihar,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
The time has come to "uproot these inhuman power-hungry (parties and leaders) sitting in the government", Baluni added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)