PATNA: Agitated over the registration of a criminal case against him and 18 other opposition leaders for holding a dharna, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Sunday dared the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in the state.
Taking to Twitter, Tejashwi said he was even ready to be hanged for the cause of farmers.
“The government of Bihar, which is being run under a ‘darpok’ (timid) chief minister, has registered an FIR against me for raising the voice in support of the farmers. If you have courage, arrest me. If you will not arrest me, I will wait for some time and then surrender myself. I am even ready to accept gallows for the cause of farmers,” Tejashwi tweeted.
Tejashwi’s tweet came a day after Patna district administration registered an FIR against him and 18 other prominent leaders of the opposition parties for holding a dharna at one of the entrance gates of the Gandhi Maidan without necessary permission from the administration amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FIR was registered against them under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Epidemic Diseases Act.An official of the district administration had on Saturday said that dharna inside Gandhi Maidan is not allowed as it is a “prohibited zone'”.
“If anyone has to stage a dharna, they can do so at Gardanibagh,” the official said, adding the FIR against Tejashwi and others were registered as they violated the administration’s order and Covid-19 protocols.