User:Manaskasana7

How Bihari Singh's Lion shattered the crowd of the Indira Gandhi's Public Meeting.

In the election of 1974, Bihari Singh wanted to contest on the ticket of Congress but Indira Gandhi refused to give the ticket citing lack of experience due to his age. Indira Gandhi wanted to establish a peasant leader equivalent to Ch. Charan Singh, Congress stalwart Gujjar leader Ramchandra Vikal was given the ticket and at that time Vikal Ji was a MP from Baghpat. While being an MP, Indira Gandhi made Ramchandra Vikal, the Minister of Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh. In any case, Mrs. Gandhi wanted Vikal Ji to win the election from Dadri assembley. She also came to hold an election meeting for him. At the same time, Bihari Singh, annoyed by not getting the ticket, contested the election as an independent candidate. The election symbol was the lion, in every village, slogans was heard 'शेर दहाड़ेगा, सबको पछाड़ेगा।' Bihari Singh gave another slogan, '‘विकल हराओ, क्षेत्र बचाओ’. Bihari Singh decided that Indira Gandhi's meeting should be thwarted by any means. A day before the meeting, Bihari Singh announced that by installing a loudspeaker on the jeep. Tomorrow I will release the lion in the public meeting. Bihari Singh Rs 500 from a circus running in Ghaziabad. He brought the lion in a cage for rent for a day. In the morning the District Magistrate and S.P. Senior officers froze in Dadri police station and also made the blockade of Dadri so that the lion could not visit Dadri but the lion was already covered in clothes in Kamal Thakur's compound, in Dadri, inside the cage, before the arrival of the Prime Minister. The next day in the afternoon, Indira Gandhi arrived in Dadri as soon as she started addressing the gathering. Then, Bihari Singh Baghi announced to leave the lion in the assembly. Indira on seeing the lion, there was a stampede in the meeting. Within five minutes, the crowd dispersed. Mrs. Gandhi too left the meeting within 5 minutes. Bihari Singh Baghi may not have won the election, but his lion cost Congress candidate, Ramchandra Vikal had to pay as a defeat. Tej Singh Bhati of Devta village won the election became an MLA.