Bhubaneswar: The Congress has given a three-day ultimatum to Odisha police to arrest the people involved in the alleged attack on its workers in front of the state party headquarters here Tuesday evening.
Notably, the supporters of both the BJP and the Congress clashed here Tuesday evening during a protest over remarks made by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to media persons here Wednesday, senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said the police should arrest the persons involved in the attack on the Congress Bhawan within three days.
Otherwise, 20,000 youths will forcibly enter the state BJP office here, he warned.
Under the instruction of the state BJP president and chief minister, their party youths hurled stones at Congress headquarters. Several Congress workers and media persons were injured during the attack, he alleged.
After coming to power, the BJP government is trying to murder democracy like the BJD, Bahinipati said.
Bahinipati also said that protests will be organised before all offices of the Superintendents of Police (SPs) across the state if the persons concerned are not arrested in 72 hours.
On Tuesday, the incident happened outside the state Congress Headquarters (Congress Bhawan), where the BJP was holding a demonstration over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks.
Besides stones, the supporters of both sides also hurled cow dung at each other.
Cow dung was thrown at a hoarding with Rahul Gandhi’s picture. Later, it was washed with milk by the Congress workers.
In his first speech as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Monday, Gandhi had launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP, accusing the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines. His remarks drew massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent. Gandhi, however, clarified that he was speaking about the BJP.
PTI