<p class="title">A woman campaigning for a separate Purvanchal state set a bus on fire in Varanasi on Wednesday after she was reportedly stopped from meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the city, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vandana Raghuvanshi, secretary of the Poorvanchal Jan Andolan Samiti, went to the Varanasi bus stand at around 11 am and boarded a state-run Volvo bus that ran between the city and Lucknow, said Dinesh Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city).</p>.<p class="bodytext">She asked two-three passengers present inside the luxury bus to deboard, following which she sprinkled petrol inside and torched it, Singh said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fire tenders were called in to douse the flames, but the bus was partially burnt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raghuvanshi, who has been arrested, also distributed pamphlets at the bus stand that mentioned the demand for a Purvanchal state, Singh said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to reporters at the police station, Raghuvanshi said she had been demanding a Purvanchal state to be carved out of Uttar Pradesh. She wanted to meet Modi during his visit on Monday and Tuesday, but was stopped by the police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The woman said she had tried several times to meet Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during their visit, but all in vain.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raghuvanshi added that she had sat on an indefinite hunger strike from August 15 to press for her demand. But the strike ended when she was forced-fed after her health condition worsened.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The woman claimed that the media did not cover her agitation when she protested in a peaceful manner, adding that now her message would reach Modi and Adityanath.</p>
<p class="title">A woman campaigning for a separate Purvanchal state set a bus on fire in Varanasi on Wednesday after she was reportedly stopped from meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the city, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vandana Raghuvanshi, secretary of the Poorvanchal Jan Andolan Samiti, went to the Varanasi bus stand at around 11 am and boarded a state-run Volvo bus that ran between the city and Lucknow, said Dinesh Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city).</p>.<p class="bodytext">She asked two-three passengers present inside the luxury bus to deboard, following which she sprinkled petrol inside and torched it, Singh said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fire tenders were called in to douse the flames, but the bus was partially burnt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raghuvanshi, who has been arrested, also distributed pamphlets at the bus stand that mentioned the demand for a Purvanchal state, Singh said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to reporters at the police station, Raghuvanshi said she had been demanding a Purvanchal state to be carved out of Uttar Pradesh. She wanted to meet Modi during his visit on Monday and Tuesday, but was stopped by the police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The woman said she had tried several times to meet Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during their visit, but all in vain.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raghuvanshi added that she had sat on an indefinite hunger strike from August 15 to press for her demand. But the strike ended when she was forced-fed after her health condition worsened.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The woman claimed that the media did not cover her agitation when she protested in a peaceful manner, adding that now her message would reach Modi and Adityanath.</p>