Expressing concern over the attack on party leader Ravi Shanker Prasad, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Lal Kishenchand Advani Thursday said there was a "complete breakdown" of law and order in Bihar and urged the Election Commission to take steps for peaceful conduct of assembly elections in the state.
The incident highlights that the situation is a matter of concern for all those who would like to have free and fair elections in Bihar, Advani said.
Arun Jaitley, general secretary of the BJP, condemned the attack on Prasad who was a former minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Prasad was shot in the arm while he was sitting on the dias in Nokha where he had gone to address a public meeting, along with Pramod Mahajan, for Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia, who had filed a petition challenging the dissolution of the state assembly in the Supreme Court of India.
"We condemn this dastardly act and we will request the Election Commission to review the law and order situation in the state and get its own report on the attack. If needs be, we will meet the Election commission," Jaitley said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
Nakoda assembly segment falls in Sasaram district of the state, which comes under the naxal belt.
Speaking to rediff.com, Prakash Javdekar, spokesman for the party said, that there was no security around the dias despite the fact that the state administration had been told about it many days in advance.
"In the last elections, Venkaiah Naidu's helicopter was attacked. We would have to take stock of the situation and review the arrangement and ask the state government to give us foolproof security," he said.
The incident took place around 1.25 pm when Mahajan got up to address the rally.
Ravi Shankar was airlifted to Sasaram hospital for treatment and will later be taken to Delhi. "We are monitoring the situation on a minute-to-minute basis and if needs be, he will be airlifted to Delhi for treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences," Javdekar said.
The party will discuss the issue at the meeting of the general secretaries on Saturday.
With PTI Inputs
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