Patna: On the opening day of the five-day monsoon session of the state legislature on Monday, opposition MLAs and MLCs marched in unison from the outer gate of the state assembly near the Martyrs’ Memorial to the assembly building, expressing solidarity with Gen-Z protesters gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, was conspicuous by his absence as he remained abroad with members of his family. There was no official information about his return.“In his absence, the party’s MLAs, MLCs and workers are carrying forward the movement. There is no problem,” senior RJD MLA and Public Accounts Committee chairman Bhai Birendra said.Security personnel did not stop the opposition legislators. Instead, following protocol, they opened the assembly gate to allow the march to proceed.The march included legislators from the RJD, Congress, CPI(ML), CPI(M), Inclusive Indian Party (IIP) and AIMIM.Carrying placards and raising slogans against the Centre, the legislators demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET paper leaks. They also protested against unemployment and what they described as the govt’s indifference to the concerns of young people.After reaching the legislature premises, the MLAs occupied the assembly portico steps while the MLCs staged a sit-in on the legislative council steps. They left sufficient space for NDA legislators and others to enter the buildings.“The Union govt has become indifferent to the aspirations of the youth. There have been several examination paper leaks, including NEET. Young people from different parts of the country have gathered at Jantar Mantar, and some have been on a hunger strike for the past 22 days, but those in power remain unmoved,” senior RJD leader and former minister Kumar Sarvajeet told reporters.Former RJD minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, CPI(ML) MLA Sandeep Saurabh and AIMIM MLA Khurshid Alam also voiced similar views.
