BJP to rally at a ground in Ranchi close to the village of the two accused in the Patna blasts

The Jharkhand unit of the BJP on Wednesday is planning to hold a rally by the party's prime minister candidate Narendra Modi on December 29 at a ground in Ranchi close to the village from which two accused in the Patna blasts hail.

Two of the men arrested in connection with the blasts in Patna on October 27, just ahead of a rally addressed by Modi, hail from Sihthiyo village, Ranchi.

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, having been denied permission by district authorities to hold a rally at the Morabadi grounds in the state capital, is now planning on a rally in Dhruva, very close to village Sihthiyo.

The Morabadi grounds, district authorities have said, is booked between December 17 and January 3.

"We await the response of the Ranchi administration to our request. If denied the Morabadi grounds, we will be forced to hold the rally at Dhurva, near Sihthiyo village. The Patna blasts ahead of the Modi rally were planned and executed by some youths of Sithityo village. We are concerned about security, and the Jharkhand government does not seem to have learned any lessons from the Patna blasts," Pradeep Sinha, Jharkhand BJP spokesperson, told IANS.

Jharkhand police chief Rajeev Kumar, however, said there was no cause for worry as adequate security would be provided for the Modi rally.