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”.

Patna:

Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor on Monday was granted ‘unconditional bail’ by a court in Patna, hours after he was sent to Beur jail for refusing to pay bail bond.

Prashant Kishor, immediately after being released from the jail, addressed the protesting the Bihar Public Service Commission aspirants and said, “there is no strength bigger than people’s strength.”

He further informed about the whole incident and said that Police took him to Beur jail but they had no documents to keep him there.

“Two hours ago, Bihar Police had taken me to Beur jail. Court accepted my demand and granted me unconditional bail…there is no strength bigger than people’s strength. This is the effect of the protest we did for people. Prashant Kishor was detained and first I was given conditional bail as per Police but I rejected it and was ready to go to jail. Police took me to Beur jail but they had no documents to keep me there and by then court’s final order came. Court took cognisance of our demand and granted unconditional bail,” Mr Kishor said.

Prashant Kishor has extended his support to the protesting students, who are demanding a cancellation of the BPSC exam. He was observing a fast-unto-death over BPSC irregularities.

Mr Kishor’s advocate Kumar Amit, speaking about the matter said that Jan Suraaj chief should have gotten bail from police station. He suggested that Mr Kishor was taken to several places on ‘someone’s instruction.’

“The allegations that have been levied on him, it is available, as per the guidelines of Supreme Court and amendment in CrPC, he should have got bail from the Police station itself, but don’t know on whose instruction, he was taken to several places in Patna for 6-8 hours…and then he was taken to court and in the first round, court may be didn’t understand the whole issue and granted him conditional bail but he didn’t accept that bail, so I went to court and after sometime court understood the matter and gave unconditional bail,” Kumar Amit said.

Earlier in the day, Mr Kishor was sent to jail after he refused to sign the conditions of his bail bond.

“For 5 days I have been protesting in Gandhinagar but today at 4 am few officials of police came and said we are detaining you, so please come along with us. The behaviour of the police was not wrong. Someone has claimed that a police official slapped me but this is wrong. They took me to AIIMS. From 5-11 am, I was made to sit in the Police vehicle and they kept taking me to different places. Nobody told me where I was being taken even though I asked them multiple times,” Mr Kishor told reporters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor was arrested early this morning, five days after he started an indefinite fast at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. 

Police said they removed Mr Kishor and his supporters from the protest site as they were “illegally” holding the demonstration near a restricted area.

#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

“Despite repeated requests by the officials concerned, they did not leave the place. They had also been served notice by the district administration to shift their dharna to Gardani Bagh, the dedicated place for holding protests, in the state capital, “Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told the news agency PTI.

He was taken to Patna AIIMS for a medical check-up after his arrest.

Gandhi Maidan is a couple of kilometres from the spot where several candidates have been on a round-the-clock protest for about two weeks.

Why Prashant Kishor Was On Indefinite Hunger Strike

Prashant Kishor began his fast unto death on January 2, backing the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, which was held on December 13 last year.

Photo Credit: PTI

Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, has been actively supporting the protesting candidates, further bringing attention to their demands for a retest of the entire 70th preliminary examination.

He has vowed that the fight would continue regardless of any government action against him.

His political party, Jan Suraaj, is expected to contest in all seats of Bihar in the next assembly election and is banking heavily on support from students.

A retest for a select group of candidates who had appeared in the BPSC exam was held on Saturday.

Out of 12,012 candidates, around 5,900 students appeared for the retest, which took place at 22 centres in Patna.

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.

New Delhi:

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor is on a defensive during his hunger strike in Patna, after critics pointed at his plush van.

Mr Kishor is on a hunger strike in support of the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) preliminary examination candidates, who alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exams.

Mr Kishor’s white caravan is a modified minibus with standard caravan fittings installed.

During his fast, his rivals pointed at the plush vehicle and questioned him if he was sincere in his protest.

Mr Kishor shot back at them. He told reporters 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,” Mr Kishor told reporters.

“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?” he said.

Patna, Bihar: Jan Suraaj Party founder, Prashant Kishor says, “If I don’t go to the bus, people ask if other people use the van. Well, it’s someone else’s house, they can go, they’re not on a hunger strike, they can use the bathroom, they can go to the restroom. But I’m on a… https://t.co/XRvBFNtWOc pic.twitter.com/peYxOsLY4U

— IANS (@ians_india) January 4, 2025

His supporters posted visuals of the protest at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, with a sea of people shouting slogans amid the winter chill.

The Patna district administration today said it is considering action against Mr Kishor for the protest at what it called an “unauthorised location”. Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh in a statement said Mr Kishor’s sit-in protest at Gandhi Maidan violated rules.

“As per a 2015 Patna High Court ruling, Gardanibagh is the designated location for protests, provided prior permission is obtained from the district administration. Gandhi Maidan, a public space primarily used for recreational activities like morning and evening walks, is not authorised for protests or sit-ins. Even political rallies at Gandhi Maidan require administrative approval,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Kishor, who was an election strategist before he plunged into politics full-time, has been actively supporting the protesting BPSC candidates, further bringing attention to their demands for a retest of the entire 70th preliminary examination.

Mr Kishor defended his choice of Gandhi Maidan as a protest site. He referred to the large-scale farmer protests in Delhi, and questioned whether those protests were seen as illegal and whether Delhi authorities were uninformed about the rules.

“If the district administration uses force to remove us and detains me, I will return and continue my Dharna after being released,” he said.

With inputs from IANS

Patna:

Election strategist-turned political leader Prashant Kishor has started an indefinite fast, backing the students of Bihar in their demand for a re-test of the 70th Combined Competitive Examination after allegations of paper leak.

“I am with these students with all my might… Till this issue is resolved, I’ll be sitting on a fast-unto death,” said the Jan Suraaj party founder, who has hunkered down with the students at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan.

Gandhi Maidan is a couple of kilometres from the spot where several candidates have been on a round-the-clock protest for nearly two weeks.

Mr Kishor  blamed the “arrogance” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar — his former boss during his stint in the Janata Dal United — for the continuation of the students’ protest.

The Chief Minister has “refused to meet the students in person in the last 16 days,” Mr Kishor said. 

“This government has ditched and deceived students on all fronts… Even Chief Secretary rank officers are feeling helpless in getting appointment with Chief Minister for these students,” added the 48-year-old, who has had a police case filed against him for backing the students.

On Monday, shortly after a delegation of protesters met Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, Mr Kishor had said he would wait for “48 hours” and intensify the stir if the Nitish Kumar government failed to take any action on the alleged paper leak for the exam held on December 13.

Tomorrow, the student wings of the Leftist parties have organised a programme to gherao Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. 

Among other things, they have demanded a high-level inquiry along with re-examination. The Chief Minister, they said in a statement, will have to break his silence on the matter. 

Jan Suraaj, a group that re-packaged itself as a political party in October, is expected to contest in all seats of Bihar in the next assembly election and is banking heavily on support from students.

Mr Kishor had said the  party would bring about a paradigm shift in electoral politics, moving it from focus on sops to issues that ought to be election agenda.

Patna:

A massive political row has erupted after Bihar police’s lathicharge against students demanding a re-examination of a recruitment test conducted by the state public service commission. Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has been charged in a police case along with 700-odd unidentified protesters. He has been accused of instigating the protest and creating a law and order problem.

Main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal has hit out at the poll strategist and accused him of trying to foil the protest. Leader of the Opposition in Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, did not name Mr Kishor but said some people tried to mislead the protesters as the ruling BJP’s “B team”.

What’s The Protest About?

Since December 13, students have been protesting against alleged irregularities in the BPSC exam and demanding a re-test. The examinees have alleged that the question paper was leaked. Some have said there was delay in distributing question paper and some students got them an hour later. Others said answer sheets were torn. The protest was being held at Gardanibagh in Patna.

The Protest Call

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor joined the protests last week and called a Chhatra Sansad (students’ parliament) at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan Sunday. Irregularities had become a norm in BPSC exams and the meeting was to find a solution. Soon after the meeting, the district administration said Gandhi Maidan was a restricted area and strict action would be taken against anyone who broke the law.

What Happened Sunday

According to Mr Kishor, the meeting decided that the protest would be not by coaching centres or politicians, but by students alone. “Gandhi Maidan is a public place, there is no question of permission. They were not protesting. We decided on this place because there was a large number of students. The students sat there and discussed issues peacefully. They then chose the leaders of the movement. There was no problem,” he told the media.

Mr Kishor said it was then decided that the students would submit their demands to the government. “Two things were decided: we would not do anything the government can call illegal and we will stop wherever police stops us.”

The March, The Crackdown

The protesters marched towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence and were stopped by police. Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena invited them for talks, but they insisted on meeting the Chief Minister. For about two hours, the protesters demonstrated where they were stopped. Police warned them to disperse, but they stayed put. At one point, some of the protesters broke a barricade. Police responded by a lathicharge and used water cannons.

Prashant Kishor Draws Fire

In the aftermath of the police action, several videos of protesters criticising Mr Kishor are circulating on Internet. They say Mr Kishor “fled” the spot before the police action after egging them on. When Mr Kishor went to meet the protesters at the Gardanibagh protest site in the evening, an altercation broke out. In a video that has gone viral, Mr Kishor is heard calling a protester a “brand new leader”. The protester responded that Mr Kishor was the leader. At one point, Mr Kishor is heard saying, “You asked me for blankets, and you are misbehaving?” The student replied, “You are trying to intimidate us with blankets?” A heated exchange followed, with the students also raising ‘go back’ slogans. NDTV cannot verify the video’s authenticity.

दो कौड़ी के बाज़ारू लोग राजनीति को भी दुकानदारी समझ बैठे है। जैसे अपने पेड स्टाफ सह पेड कार्यकर्ताओं पर धौंस जमाते है वैसे ही जनता को समझ लिया है। इ बिहार है बाज़ारू बाबू- बीजेपी के पैसे से यहाँ वोट और मुद्दा नहीं बंटेगा pic.twitter.com/Wx0YGXNKPV

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) December 30, 2024

Sharing the video, RJD’s official handle said, “He thinks the people are his paid staff and his trying to intimidate them. This is Bihar’s Bazaru Babu. BJP’s money won’t split votes and issue here.”

Mr Kishor has told the media that he had left the spot before the police action began. “We will not spare the ones who did this.”

वीडियो देखकर कलेजा काँप गया जिस तरह से छात्रों को ठंड में पीटा गया है। क्या कोई नेता का बेटा, अधिकारी का बेटा को ऐसे पुलिस मार सकती है ? आंदोलन को ख़त्म करने के लिए BJP अपने दलाल को प्लांट किया और लाठी खिलवा दिया बच्चों को और ख़ुद भाग गया।

बीते 11 दिनों से गर्दनीबाग़ में चल रहे… pic.twitter.com/wbYRagtG8b

— Alok Chikku (@AlokChikku) December 29, 2024

Tejashwi Yadav’s BJP ‘B-team’ Jab

Leader of the Opposition Yadav described the lathi charge on the protesters as “heart-rending”. “The peaceful protest was strong. But some people tried to mislead this agitation. I could have called 5 lakh people at Gandhi Maidan, but that wouldn’t be the solution. The peaceful protest had put pressure on the state government and BPSC. So they tried a new formula that BJP’s B Team was moved forward and the movement was shifted to Gandhi Maidan.”

The RJD leader said that when the police crackdown began, “those who said they would be at the forefront fled”. “This is a conspiracy to finish the agitation. I have been repeating this. If I had to politicise this, I would have called you to Gandhi Maidan. Students were misled, now they will face FIR and they cannot appear for the exam.”

Opposition Slams NDA government

Top Opposition leaders have hit out at the JDU-BJP government in Bihar after visuals of the crackdown on students circulated on the Internet. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said instead of stopping paper leaks, students’ voices are being muffled. “Using water cannons and lathicharge against students in this cold is inhuman. BJP’s double engine has become a symbol of double torture on youngsters.” AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said BJP’s governments want to suppress every voice of protest. “This lathicharge on peaceful protesters is an attack on democracy,” he said, adding that AAP stands with students.

New Delhi:

A police case has been filed against election strategist-turned political leader Prashant Kishore, leaders of his Jan Suraaj party, a few coaching centre owners and 700 unknown protesters over the massive student protests in Bihar held on Sunday.  They have been accused of “unauthorisedly” gathering people, instigating them and creating a law and order problem.

The Jan Suraaj Party, the police said, had also held a protest march without permission and led the crowd near Patna’s Gandhi Maidan which had turned violent, breaking police loudspeakers and clashing with magistrates and police officers on duty. 

“Despite repeated requests by the administration, these people violated the guidelines of the administration and disrupted public order,” the police said.

The police had used batons and water cannons to break up Sunday’s massive protest by the Bihar Public Service Commission aspirants, who were demanding a re-test of the 70th Combined Competitive Examination after allegations of paper leak.

The students had gathered at Gandhi Maidan before marching towards JP Golambar, intending to proceed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence. They wanted to meet him and discuss the issue. 

Prashant Kishor had expressed his full support for the students. He participated in their march to JP Golambar, and announced that a students’ delegation would meet the Chief Secretary. But the students refused to meet anyone but the Chief Minister and their insistence led to the police action.

Earlier, Mr Kishor had called for a “Chhatra Sansad” at Gandhi Maidan on Saturday, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, to discuss the students’ issues and strategise future actions. However, the city administration denied permission for the event.

Jan Suraaj, a group that re-packaged itself as a political party in October this year, is expected to contest in all seats of Bihar in the next assembly election.

The former election strategist converted the group at the end of a yatra and extensive travel across the state for two years. 
The party, he had said, would bring about a paradigm shift in electoral politics, moving it from focus on sops to issues that ought to be election agenda.

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Friday said “one nation one election” could be beneficial for the country provided the move was initiated with good intentions.

The Jan Suraaj Party founder buttressed his point with the example of laws “brought in ostensibly to clamp down on terror but used for targeting one particular community”.

He was responding to queries from journalists on the Union cabinet’s nod to the Bills for holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies, which are now likely to be tabled soon in Parliament.

“I have been involved in many elections. I have noticed that every year a sizeable part of the nation remains involved in some election, at national or state level”, said Prashant Kishor, whose poll consultancy firm IPAC handled campaigns of leaders as diverse as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Prashant Kishor pointed out that things were “different in the past”.

“At least till 1960s, polls were being held simultaneously for Lok Sabha and state assemblies. If it happens again, it will be good for the country. But a smooth phase of transition must be ensured. Such a change must not be attempted overnight,” he said.

The Jan Suraaj Party supremo, whose fledgling outfit has been trying to win over Muslims of Bihar, also remarked “success of the proposed Bills would depend a lot on the perceived intentions of the Centre. You can bring a law in the name of combating terror only to harass a particular community”.

Prashant Kishor’s comments come in the backdrop of misgivings in the political circles that “one nation one election” could be used to target state governments run by parties opposed to the ruling BJP at the Centre

Washington:

Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor has said Bihar is “literally a failed state” which is in “deep s***” and tremendous efforts are required for its all-round development.

In a virtual interaction with the Bihari diaspora community after the launch of the US chapter of the Jan Suraaj, the former poll strategist exuded confidence that his party would win the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls and said that he would lift the ban on alcohol and use the revenue to improve school education.

“We have to realise that this (Bihar) is a state which is in deep s***. If Bihar were a country, it would be the 11th largest country in terms of population in the world. We have just overtaken Japan in terms of population,” Mr Kishor told the gathering.

He said the biggest challenge is that society has become “hopeless” about improving the situation of Bihar.

“When you become hopeless, the immediate survival needs become so overpowering that nothing (else) matters,” he said.

However, Mr Kishor said, not all is lost.

“Some hope is definitely there because of what we have been doing in the last two and a half years. But to convert this into a tangible electoral outcome and further into a governance outcome (will take time). Anyone who wants to be part of it has to be committed for at least five-six years,” he said.

“Even if the government (of the Jan Suraaj) is formed in 2025 and we continue to work hard with this intensity, it would be a big thing if Bihar becomes a middle-income state by 2029-2030. It is literally a failed state as it stands today on all developmental parameters,” Mr Kishor said.

“The characteristics of failed states are visible in the population here. For example… sometimes we think… why are people in Sudan fighting for 20 years in the civil war. Because when you are in that failed state, then people are not worried about how our children will study in Sudan. They are worried about who to shoot and where to capture. So that is the situation in Bihar too. And we must be aware of it,” he added.

Mr Kishor told the Bihari diaspora community that he was “not trying to scare them” but making them aware of the ground realities and the long road ahead.

“The Jan Suraaj will win in 2025 (Bihar Assembly elections). There is no doubt about it. (Based on my) electoral understanding, I can clearly see that we will win,” he said.

He said if the Jan Suraaj is voted to power, his top priority would be improving school education and this would be funded by the revenue generated after lifting the statewide ban on alcohol.

He urged members of the Bihari diaspora in the US to start calling their friends and relatives to support and vote for the Jan Suraaj.

The Jan Suraaj, which was floated in October with much fanfare, failed to make an impact in the recent Bihar Assembly bypolls. The party’s candidates lost deposits in all but one seat.

The ruling NDA swept the bypolls, winning all four seats.

Mr Kishor further said the Bihari diaspora has not done much for the development of Bihar.

“I have not seen anything very tangible on the ground. Beyond sessions, I have not seen anything tangible on the ground. Let me be blunt about it. Ultimately, you don’t do anything. Don’t take it otherwise. But you don’t do anything,” he told the gathering. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)