Bandhs were organised in Gaya district and Magadh division on Monday by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal to protest against the State government’s “failure” to avert the serial blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya. Both parties staged brief rasta rokos and several BJP supporters were detained in Gaya.
The overall response to the bandhs was lukewarm, Deputy Inspector General of Police Nayyar Hasnain Khan told The Hindu .
In Patna, RJD supporters burnt effigies of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the former Deputy Chief Minister, Sushil Kumar Modi. RJD chief Lalu Prasad has held the State government responsible for the attacks despite intelligence.
“Both Mr. Kumar and Mr. Modi are responsible for the incident. They did not take enough security measures,” an RJD spokesperson said.
A six-member team of RJD leaders, led by Rajya Sabha member Ram Kripal Yadav, visited the temple on Monday. They also met the two injured victims of the attack.
BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley are slated to visit the temple on Tuesday.
In response to the bandh, Mr. Kumar said parties should not politicise such incidents. “Everyone has been exposed because of our step [breaking ties from the BJP]. Some people work against the government directly and indirectly,” he said.
