Bhubaneswar: The Congress Friday raised questions on Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s silence over the clash between party supporters and the police, which left several people injured during the ‘Vidhan Sabha Gherao’ programme the previous day.
At a press conference in Bhubaneswar, state Congress president Bhakta Charan Das also accused Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania of making a political statement on the agitation, which turned violent.
Das alleged that the “peaceful agitation” turned violent because of a conspiracy hatched by the BJP.
Several people, including security personnel, were injured Thursday after Congress supporters clashed with police in Bhubaneswar after being stopped from marching to the assembly, to press for their demand for a high-level probe into crimes against women that they alleged have increased during the tenure of the BJP, which came to power last June.
Das, who was leading the protest near the assembly building, wondered why the chief minister, who is also in charge of the home department, was silent on the issue.
Claiming that 40 party workers were injured in the police action during the protest, Das said the state BJP president, Thursday evening, visited the hospital to enquire about the injured police personnel.
“However, the chief minister, who holds the Home Department, neither visited them nor uttered a single word on the incident”, he said.
During his visit to the hospital, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal alleged that Congress believes in violence and they behaved like “goons”.
Responding to Samal’s comment, Das said, “The people who have killed Mahatma Gandhi are claiming that Congress believes in violence. They (BJP) have come to power by orchestrating riots in various cities.”
On the ruling BJP and police blaming the Congress for the violence, he said, “We were conducting a peaceful agitation. When our people were near the barricade, the police, instead of taking them to custody, used batons, water cannons and tear gas, leaving many men and women of the party injured.”
Replying to a question, Das claimed that the Congress people have “never” thrown stones at security personnel as alleged.
“The people who do not belong to Congress have created the violence, and we condemn it. We don’t know them, their place of origin and why they indulge in violence at the protest site,” he said.
Das also alleged that the protest turned violent because of the BJP’s conspiracy.
Of the 40 Congress people injured in the police attack, 10 were admitted to hospitals, and the condition of two was very serious, he claimed.
The Congress leader also alleged that the DGP has threatened the Congress party.
“It is not proper on the part of an officer, who is holding a position in the administration, to give a political statement,” Das said.
After seeing the injured police personnel at Capital Hospital, Khurania said that all those who indulged in violence during the Congress’ Gherao of the Assembly would be sent to jail.
He used words like “atankraj (terror tactics) of anti-socials” and mentioned that he would not tolerate anyone touching a policeman in uniform.
“They can take action as per law, but the police cannot give threats like goons. Our 10 people are in serious condition and we have video footage of the police brutality. We may have to file a case against the police,” Das said.
It is clearly mentioned in the law book that the police can hit batons below the hips, but in this case, the Congress workers sustained serious head injuries, he said, while terming the police action a “serious offence”.
He appealed to the Human Rights Commission to intervene in the incident to give justice to the injured Congress workers.
Meanwhile, the police have registered three cases in connection with Thursday’s violence and also a scuffle near the Assembly gate on March 26 night.
Das said the Congress will take the issue of women’s safety to every district, block and panchayat of the state in coming days.
PTI
