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Lalu Yadav Calls For March to Lok Bhawan Over AK-47 Use Against Student Protesters in Siwan

The RJD and its Mahagathbandhan alliance has demanded accountability from senior police officials responsible for ordering the use of an AK-47 firearm against student protesters in Siwan in July.
The RJD and its Mahagathbandhan alliance has demanded accountability from senior police officials responsible for ordering the use of an AK-47 firearm against student protesters in Siwan in July.
lalu yadav calls for march to lok bhawan over ak 47 use against student protesters in siwan
Patna: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, front centre, with party leaders Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, at the party's national executive committee meeting, in Patna, Sunday, January 25, 2026. Photo: PTI.
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New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has called for a march to the Lok Bhawan in Patna, Bihar, on Wednesday (August 19) to protest the "dictatorial attitude" of the ruling state government against student protesters. Yadav said the government, which is founded on a system of plunder, does not listen to the democratic demands of students and instead responds with "AK-47 bullets." The march comes amid ongoing student protests in different parts of the country against flawed national and state examinations, with state forces cracking down brutally on peaceful and unarmed protesters.

Yadav said members of RJD's Mahagathbandhan alliance are expected to take part in the march with the aim of submitted a memorandum to the governor, Syed Ata Hasnain, over the alleged use of an AK-47 firearm against student protesters in Siwan district in July. 

A video showing a police officer wielding an AK-47 rifle during a Cockroach Janta Party-led protest against the NEET-2026 paper leak in Siwan went viral on social media on July 25. Following widespread public outrage, the constable was suspended. Although the police have maintained that no one was injured during the firing, the mere usage of a deadly firearm against peaceful dissenters reveals a deeply authoritarian and draconian side of the state.

An inquiry into the incident has been initiated as officers were under strict instructions to not resort to firearms during the protests.

Yadav strongly condemned the Narendra Modi-led government's treatment of protesters. On Monday (August 18), he wrote on X, "All student-youth power is tormented by paper leaks, the dilapidated education system, biased recruitment processes, and unemployment."

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"Instead of listening to their democratic demands, the arrogant government, built on a system of plunder, rains bullets from AK-47s–this is unjust. Unite in Patna on August 19 against this dictatorship," he added.

Earlier, on Independence Day (August 15), Yadav had issued a pointed comment against Modi on X, saying, "Hey Modi ji, Eat your dal-rice, but don't eat away the youth's future!"

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RJD national working president, Tejashwi Yadav, talking to reporters about the August 19 march, said no action had been taken against senior police officials over the Siwan firing incident. Suspending a constable was not enough, he said, senior officials who orders the use of the firearm in the first place should be held accountable, reported Hindustan Times.

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On July 25, demonstrators clashed with police in several districts of Bihar, including Patna, Saran, Siwan, Aurangabad, Bhagalpur, Sitamarhi, Purnia and Bhojpur, with hundreds of students detained after the agitation.

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This article went live on August nineteenth, two thousand twenty six, at seventeen minutes past two in the afternoon.

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