Bhubaneswar: Under attack from BJP and others over largescale violence during its protest in Bhubaneswar, Congress claimed that some outside elements and not party workers indulged in violent acts during the Assembly gherao programme.
Coming down heavily on Congress, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Minister Jayanarayan Mishra alleged that workers of the grand old party mounted an attack on police personnel deployed at the protest site on Thursday.
“Assault on police personnel on duty is not acceptable at all and the way the Congress workers indulged in violence has to be condemned,” he told reporters.
Claiming that only around 5,000 people had gathered for the Congress agitation in the capital city, the Sambalpur MLA alleged that the demonstrators had no option but to indulge in violence in order to make their presence felt.
“Congress workers realised that their rally had become a flop as only a handful of people were present to stage protest. Therefore, they resorted to violence,” the BJP leader claimed
As the party came under attack, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das blamed the police for the violence during the party’s protest.
When the Congress workers were marching in a peaceful manner, the police personnel stopped them forcefully and mounted an attack, Das alleged and claimed police beat up the protesters brutally.
Claiming that party workers did not indulge in violence, the state Congress chief said some outsiders who came from behind the stage erected for party leaders were responsible for the violent activities. “These people pelted stones at the police. We condemn the stone pelting on police by outsiders,” Das said.
The PCC chief, however, lashed out at the BJP government for using police force to stop vehicles carrying Congress workers to the rally from several parts of the state. The police were utilised as ‘goondas’ to stop and threaten Congress workers, but despite that the agitation was a great success, he said.
