Patna: The government had no role in the surrender of Manoj Baitha, the suspended BJP leader accused of mowing down nine schoolchildren in Muzaffarpur, and instead the government was protecting him for four days, Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Wednesday.

"It is a shame for the Nitish Kumar government that he (Baitha) was hiding in Muzaffarpur district but police failed to catch him. It proves that leaders like Nitish and Sushil Kumar Modi were protecting him," Tejashwi alleged.

The Opposition leader repeated his charge that Baitha was instructed to surrender once the alcohol is gone from his body. "If he would have been caught that day (February 24), the alcohol would have been easily detected. What was the role of police in this (surrender)? If Opposition and media had not raised the issue, the government would have swept the matter under the carpet," he said.

Tejashwi also asked why the BJP had suspended Baitha for six years.

"Why only for six years, why not for lifetime? It means that after six years, he will again become a BJP member. What action has been taken on people who were protecting him for the last four days? Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi must apologise for their claim of rule of law because police did not catch Baitha; he himself surrendered," Tejashwi said.