Maoists call bandh on April 2 to foil PM Modi’s rally at Gaya

The Bihar regional committee of the CPI (Maoists), an outlawed Left Wing Extremists (LWE) group, has called for Magadh division bandh covering four districts Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada and Jehanabad on April 2 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election rally in Gaya.

The Maoists put up posters Friday night in the rural areas of Gaya and Aurangabad announcing the bandh.

The posters called upon the poor and the suppressed class of the society to boycott the PM’s rally on April 2 and remain indoors “to avoid any eventuality”. They described the political establishment of the country as a congregation of fascist forces to inflict atrocities on the poor and the women.

The Bihar Police dismissed any possible threat to the Prime Minister from the Maoists.

“Proper deployments of forces at all strategic locations, alert security and the intelligence wings, and regular search operations have instilled a sense of security among the commoners. All poll processes are going on smoothly and peacefully,” said Gaya’s senior superintendent of police Rajeev Mishra.

BJP leaders in Gaya also dismissed the Maoist attempt to foil the PM rally by spreading fear among people. “Nobody is going to heed their threats,” said a BJP leader who is part of the team organising the rally.

In their posters, Maoists also owned responsibility for blowing up the house of the former BJP MLC Anuj Kumar Singh at his native village of Bodhibigha in Gaya district because he had joined the “Brahminical forces of Hindutva which perpetuated torture on the poor and the weaker sections of the society.”

Police have rubbished the claims saying the MLC’s house was attacked because he did not pay the Maosists.