— PHOTO: PTI

ACTION, REACTION: Lying unconscious is the man who shot at and injured BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad in Bihar on Thursday. The man was beaten up by BJP supporters.

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Thursday condemned the armed attack on BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at an election campaign meeting in Nokha, Bihar.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley addressed a press conference here to point out that the Bihar administration had been given prior information about the election rally that was addressed by general secretary Pramod Mahajan, Mr. Prasad and the sitting MLA from Nokha, Rameshwar Prasad. The attack, he said, was the result of the appalling law and order situation in the State.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma wished Mr. Prasad a speedy recovery and added that it was the duty of the police and the administration to provide security.

Mr. Jaitley said information gathered from those present at the meeting suggested that as soon as the two Prasads finished addressing the gathering and Mr. Mahajan got up to speak, an unidentified man rushed to the dais, got on to it, and fired at the speakers wounding Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was immediately rushed to Sasaram on a helicopter with Mr. Mahajan accompanying him.

The people at the spot overpowered the man who was apparently carrying two weapons and beat him up.

BJP leaders said senior party leaders had become busy taking care of Mr. Prasad and the crowd of angry party supporters ``naturally'' beat up the assailant.

The attack on Mr. Prasad and the near lynching of the attacker were both blamed on the absence of security arrangements.

Mr. Jaitley said the BJP intended to meet with the Election Commission to point out, as it had done earlier, that many of the areas covered in the first phase of the elections were under Naxal influence and there was need for adequate security not only during polling but also while campaigning.

``There was almost no security there. Policemen were absent although the district administration had been informed of the meeting,'' Mr. Jaitley said, adding that during the election campaign in February, the helicopter of senior party leader Venkaiah Naidu had been set ablaze by miscreants.

He refrained from blaming any political party or group for the attack saying the party would wait for the investigations.

``The incident will not deter us from continuing the campaign as planned,'' Mr. Jaitley said in response to questions whether the attack on Mr. Prasad would force the party to make changes in its campaign schedule.

However, there was certainly need for better security arrangements, he added.

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