When they got to the Income-Tax roundabout, the police used water cannons to stop them, before detaining Mr. Yadav, Ms. Bharti and others.
Later, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui led a delegation to meet the Governor to submit their memorandum.
“Since Governor sahab was not present, we submitted our memorandum on behalf of our leader, Tejashwi Yadav, to the principal secretary of the Governor,” Mr. Siddiqui said.
His elder sister and RJD MP Misa Bharti, who was also detained, brought up the alleged firing in Siwan.
However, an RJD leader said the party was demanding the suspension of the officer, not just his transfer.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharti were among those detained by police on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) when the party took out a protest march to the Lok Bhavan in Patna over issues such as question paper leaks, unemployment, and the alleged firing on student protesters in Bihar’s Siwan last month.
Police stopped the march before it reached its destination, and later detained the party leaders, who were taken to the Secretariat Police Station. From there, a party delegation went to submit a memorandum to the Bihar Governor, Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain.
Leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) took a swipe at Mr. Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, quipping that “he woke up to support students after 20 days” and terming the protest a “save Tejashwi Yadav march”.
Wednesday’s protest march began at the J.P. Roundabout near Gandhi Maidan and headed towards Lok Bhavan. The police first tried to stop the march at the Dak Bungalow crossing, but protesters removed or jumped over barricades. When they got to the Income-Tax roundabout, the police used water cannons to stop them, before detaining Mr. Yadav, Ms. Bharti and others.
Later, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui led a delegation to meet the Governor to submit their memorandum. “Since Governor sahab was not present, we submitted our memorandum on behalf of our leader, Tejashwi Yadav, to the principal secretary of the Governor,” Mr. Siddiqui said.
‘Symbolic toy guns’
During the march, many of the protesters carried the Tricolour, while some also carried dummy AK-47 guns in a symbolic rebuke of the alleged firing on student protesters in Siwan on July 25. “These are symbolic, toy guns to remind the government about the firing incident of Siwan,” a protester said.
A large number of policemen were deployed at different crossings in Patna. Senior administrative officials were also seen moving around and monitoring the situation in the city.
Speaking to reporters after being detained, Mr. Yadav said, “The government is afraid of the youth, but the RJD will continue to raise issues concerning students and unemployment. No government is permanent; every government has to go one day… We are not afraid to go to jail... We will keep fighting for the rights of the students.” He called for maintaining transparency in examinations and for putting a stop to "recurring paper leaks” and unemployment.
His elder sister and RJD MP Misa Bharti, who was also detained, brought up the alleged firing in Siwan. "The students of Bihar are ready to go to jail and continue their protest until the officer responsible for giving the order to the Siwan policeman to fire upon protesting students with an AK-47 is suspended,” she said.
On August 17, the State government had transferred the Siwan Superintendent of Police, Puran Kumar Jha, along with other IPS officers. However, an RJD leader said the party was demanding the suspension of the officer, not just his transfer.
On Tuesday (August 18, 2026). RJD president Lalu Prasad had appealed to people to participate in the party’s Lok Bhavan march, which he said was against the “dictatorship of the government that doesn’t listen to students’ democratic demands and has built a system of plunder”. The ruling NDA’s leaders dubbed the RJD’s protest a “flop march”.
“It was nothing but a desperate attempt to save Tejashwi Yadav’s declining political future. The party now does not have the relevance that it earlier had during Lalu Prasad’s time,” said Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Dilip Jaiswal, who was a former State president of the BJP. The JD(U), a partner in the ruling alliance, echoed the sentiment.
