BJP has set whole state ablaze, Nitish Kumar is finished: Lalu Yadav on Bihar clashes

NEW DELHI: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday blamed his former ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for communal clashes that broke out over the past two weeks. "Nitish Kumar is now finished. There are riots and incidents of violence all over Bihar. BJP has set the whole state ablaze," Lalu Yadav said outside AIIMS where he was brought in for treatment.

Nitish Kumar is now finished. There are riots & incidents of violence all over Bihar. BJP has set the whole state ablaze: Lalu Prasad Yadav after being brought to #Delhi for treatment at AIIMS pic.twitter.com/G1aPtoGEg3

— ANI (@ANI) March 29, 2018

Lalu Yadav, who is serving jail term here since December 23 in a fodder scam case, arrived in New Delhi on medical advice for specialised treatment at AIIMS. The former chief minister had been convicted in four fodder scam cases since 2013 - the latest being the Dumka treasury case, in which a special CBI court sentenced him to 14 years of imprisonment. Lalu Yadav's statement was a reference to the communal clashes that broke out in Bihar's Bhagalpur, Aurangabad and Munger districts. Bihar witnessed communal violence in Samastipur and Munger districts on Tuesday. Tension ran high in Samastipur's Rosera after clashes erupted between two groups following a dispute. Agitated mob unleashed itself on police personnel sent to control violence and pelted stones on another group. An ASP and a DSP were injured in the attack. Senior police officers rushed to the spot prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were clamped barring an assembly of more than four people in the area. In another such clash, 10 people were injured in Munger district when two groups clashed and pelted stones on each other during an idol immersion procession. Bullets were fired and a petrol bomb was also hurled. On Sunday, clashes had erupted in Aurangabad between members of two communities during a Ram Navami procession. Over 50 persons were arrested for inciting tension in the district. The state government has deputed senior IPS officer Gupteshwar Pandey to Aurangabad to restore peace and harmony in trouble-torn areas of the district. A week earlier, communal violence had erupted in Bhagalpur over playing of loud music during a religious procession which was being led by Arijit Shashwat, son of Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey.