Violent start in Bihar: BJP’s Prasad shot at

Prasad, Information and Broadcasting minister in the previous NDA government, was sharing the dais with colleague Pramod Mahajan and BJP candidate Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia in Nokha, 25 km from Sasaram.

A man climbed the dais with two pistols in his hands and opened fire. Hit in the left arm, Prasad was rushed to a clinic in Sasaram. Both Mahajan and Chaurasia escaped unhurt. Chaurasia is among the petitioners who have moved the Supreme Court against dissolution of the last Assembly.

In New Delhi, BJP chief L K Advani said there was ‘‘complete breakdown’’ of law and order in Bihar and urged the Election Commission to take steps for peaceful conduct of polls.

Condemning the attack on Prasad, the Congress and RJD too said it was the duty of the police and the administration to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The assailant, who was thrashed by BJP workers with chairs and sticks, was presumed dead and taken by police to a hospital. But doctors discovered that he was breathing and was unconscious.

Rohtas DM Vivek Singh said a note found from the pocket of assailant Munna Rai indicated he was mentally unsound, that he wanted to get even with ‘‘satta-ke-dalals” and make the “supreme sacrifice.’’

SC order likely today

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce on Friday an interim verdict on a petition challenging the dissolution of the last Bihar Assembly. The order will clear the uncertainty over polls in the state.