Patna:

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was on Monday arrested for an “illegal” fast unto death and then released on “unconditional” bail, has been taken to a hospital in Patna after his health deteriorated last night.

Mr Kishor was arrested from Patna’s Gandhi Maidan early Monday morning, in pursuance of a case against him last week for holding ‘Aamaran anshan’ (fast unto death) at Gandhi Maidan, in violation of a Patna High Court order that forbids any such demonstration at a place other than Gardani Bagh locality in the city.

Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, was on an indefinite fast since January 2 to back the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, which was held in December last year.

He was produced before a Patna court Monday afternoon, which granted him bail with the condition that, he claimed, he must give a written undertaking not to take part in any “illegal” protest in future.

Mr Kishor and his legal team held that the condition was tantamount to “admitting guilt” and he was then remanded to judicial custody. He was later released by the authorities in the evening.

Prashant Kishor On Why He Rejected Bail

Speaking to reporters outside the court last evening, Prashant Kishor explained why he refused to sign a bail bond.

“I was taken to the court and I was granted bail but in the bail order it was mentioned that I should not do any wrongdoings, so I rejected it and I accepted to go to jail,” he said.

He also narrated the sequence of events of Monday morning: “Around 4 am, police reached Gandhi Maidan, where I have been sitting on an indefinite fast unto death for the last five days. They told me that they were detaining me and asked me to go with them. I left with them. Since my supporters were also with me, it’s natural that a minor clash broke out (between them and the police). But by and large, the behaviour of the police was not wrong.”

“After we left Gandhi Maidan, the police didn’t tell me where they were taking me. They took me to AIIMS. I was there for more than an hour. They refused to admit me and I have no idea why. The police then tried to take me to a different hospital but by then a large crowd of my supporters had gathered at the gate of AIIMS. There was again a minor clash at the gate. From there, the behaviour of the police started deteriorating,” he added.

He claimed he was made to sit in the police vehicle from 5 am to 11 am and that they kept taking him to different places.

“They told me they would either take me to PMCH (Patna Medical College and Hospital) or NMCH (Nalanda Medical College and Hospital) but eventually, after five hours, they took me to Fatuha’s community centre. They wanted to conduct my medical test and get a certificate from the doctors there. I refused to give my consent for that because I wasn’t involved in any criminal activity. Police tried to convince the doctors for a certificate but they refused to give any such illegal certificate,” Mr Kishor alleged.

He claimed that the police argued that they had to take a “longer route for crowd management”.

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was arrested by the Bihar police on Monday morning. Mr Kishor was “forcibly” taken to AIIMS in an ambulance and has been isolated from everyone, sources said.

Mr Kishor has reportedly refused treatment and will continue his fast unto death.

In a video shared by the news agency ANI, a large team of Patna police can be seen trying to remove Mr Kishor from the protest site with his fellow protesters trying to hold him. the police also removed other demonstrators from the site.

#WATCH | BPSC protest | Bihar: Patna Police detains Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor who was sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Maidan pic.twitter.com/cOnoM7EGW1

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025

Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, has been on an indefinite strike since January 2 in support of the protesting students to press the demand for the cancellation of the integrated 70th combined (preliminary) competitive test conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). The students are demanding the cancellation of the exam due to an alleged paper leak.

The BPSC exam was held on December 13.

The protest site – Gandhi Maidan – is a couple of kilometers from the spot where several candidates have been on a round-the-clock protest for over two weeks.

“I am with these students with all my might… Till this issue is resolved, I’ll be sitting on a fast-unto death. The candidates are protesting in biting cold, braving baton charge by police and water cannons. The Chief Minister is away in Delhi, and having a good time. He did not utter a single word when reporters in the national capital approached him with queries on the stir,” the Jan Suraaj party chief had said.

Earlier, Mr Kishor said that his party would file a petition in the Patna High Court on January 7 regarding the irregularities in the BPSC examination.

“It is not a matter of decision for us whether we will continue this (protest) or not. We will continue doing what we are doing now, there will be no change in it…We (Jan Suraaj Party) will file a petition in the High Court on the 7th,” he said.

‘Vanity Van’ controversy

A controversy erupted on Saturday over a ‘vanity van’, reportedly with many luxury facilities, parked close to Mr Kishor’s protest site. The Jan Suraaj party chief’s rivals pointed at the plush vehicle and questioned him if he was sincere in his protest.

However, Mr Kishor shot back at them, saying that he needed the van to “avoid the press and rivals from making false allegations of breaking the hunger strike if he went home to use the washroom, as they could say he had gone to eat meals”.

“If I don’t go to the bus, people ask if others use the van. Well, if it’s someone else’s house, they can go, they’re not on hunger strike, they can use the bathroom, they can go to the restroom. But I’m on a hunger strike, and if I go home to use the bathroom, journalists will say I went to eat or sleep,” he said.

“Some even said the van costs Rs 4 crore, and rented at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. If that is so, give me that rent. I will use it. How foolish can people be?” Mr Kishor added.