Lucknow, Jul 21 (PTI): Police detained several Samajwadi Party and Congress workers who were staging a protest here on Tuesday over the forcible removal of senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav during their dharna outside the prime minister’s residence in Delhi.
Samajwadi Party (SP) workers staged protests near the Vidhan Bhavan and at Atal Chowk from where they were detained.
Congress workers too were detained while they were marching to the Jan Bhavan to protest against the forcible removal of senior party leaders from the dharna site, state Congress chief Ajay Rai said.
CO Hazratganj Rajnish Verma said around 250-300 people were detained at Eco Garden. Most of them were protesting at Atal Chowk.
Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, were forcibly removed by police after they staged a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in Delhi, demanding his resignation.
The surprise sit-in at the high-security zone sent the government into a tizzy, prompting it to rush Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, along with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, to persuade the opposition leaders to vacate the sensitive site.
Gandhi’s discussion with the minister lasted few minutes, after which Singh and the home secretary left as the talks remained inconclusive.
Soon after Singh left the protest site, police forcibly removed and detained Gandhi and other leaders in the evening.
Congress held protests in different districts of Uttar Pradesh to condemn the incident.
In Amethi, SP workers staged a protest and sit-in Tuesday evening in front of the office of the superintendent of police. The protest was led by SP district unit Ram Udit Yadav.
During the event, party workers raised slogans against the government and demanded immediate release of Akhilesh Yadav.
SP district president Ram Udit Yadav said the Modi government is committing atrocities against innocent people. He alleged that democratic values are being disregarded in an attempt to suppress political opponents.
At the Ambedkar intersection in Amethi, Congress workers led by senior Congress leader Dharmendra Shukla staged a protest in front of the statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
In Barabanki, SP workers staged a protest near the city’s Chhaya Crossing on Tuesday evening to condemn the detention of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders.
The SP workers alleged that detaining leaders who were registering their protest in a democratic manner was an undemocratic move. They demanded the immediate release of all detained leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi.
They said that peaceful protest is the right of every citizen in a democracy.
In Jhansi, SP workers gathered at the city’s prominent Elite crossing, and staged a protest while raising slogans against the government. Circle Officer (City) Ramvir Singh said 10-12 individuals have been detained for blocking the road, while staging a protest without permission. PTI COR NAV ARB ARB
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
