Hundreds of protesting home guard personnel on Friday gheraoed the Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi in Muzaffarpur for fulfilment of their long pending demands. Though the CM did not meet them, at a function later he announced an accumulated pension amount for the home guard jawans.
The 53,000 home guards have been on leave for the past three days to highlight non-fulfilment of their demands including revision of pay structure and retirement pension scheme, among others.
Many of them had even deposited their rifles and cartridges with the department.
“We were initially told that the Chief Minister will hold talks with us in Muzaffarpur circuit house during his visit on Friday but when he refused to meet us some of my colleagues gheraoed him in the town,” Arun Kumar Thakur, leader of the home guards association told The Hindu .
“If our demands will not be fulfilled we’ll go on indefinite strike from December 15,” he said.
However, when the Chief Minister reached Muzaffarpur to inaugurate an indoor stadium the home guard jawans stopped his car and gheraoed him while shouting slogans. However, the Chief Minister remained in his car and refused to meet the protesting home guard personnel.
The rifle and lathi wielding home guard personnel in Bihar work on meagre daily wages of Rs. 300.
