Bhubaneswar: Several Congress leaders were detained by the police ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha capital on Friday.
Prominent among those held under preventive detention are Syed Yashir Nawaz, general secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), and four other youth leaders of the party.
As per police sources, the detained Congress leaders are currently being held at the Capital police station in the state capital. These leaders have been under detention since Thursday night as a preventive measure, said a senior police official.
Responding sharply to the police action, the OPCC condemned the detention of its leaders.” Modi is coming to Bhubaneswar for the first anniversary celebrations of the BJP government in Odisha. There is no reason for them to be afraid of Congress leaders,” Yashir said.
Asserting that the party will not be intimidated by such actions, he said Congress will intensify the fight against the BJP government in the interest of the people of Odisha, and party leaders and workers are not afraid of arrests.
Notably, the Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar at around 3.40 p.m. on Friday. From there, he will go to the Janata Maidan in a huge roadshow.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a large public gathering at the Janata Maidan.
Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multiple developmental projects worth around Rs 19,000 crore. These include railway projects worth over Rs 2750 crore.
He is also likely to interact with beneficiaries of the Lakhpati Didi scheme and felicitate around 25 eminent freedom fighters from the state.
He is also likely to inaugurate the digital Hundi system, an online donation platform, for the famous Jagannath temple in Puri.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in coordination with various agencies, including the State Police and Central Armed Police Forces in Bhubaneswar for the visit of Modi. Altogether 133 platoons of police force and several senior policemen have been deployed for the security arrangements in the capital city.