Rajkot/Ahmedabad: Several Congress leaders and workers were detained on Sunday as they protested across the state against BJP government's “failure” to address the farmers’s issues.
The Congress workers dumped vegetables and poured milk on the roads and blocked several roads, including national and state highways by burning tyres, on the third day of the protests, which included tractor rallies as well as a "jail bharo andolan".
Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda was detained along with party members at Asodar in Anand district, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani was detained in Vadia village of Amreli district.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani, however, termed it as a "Congress only" protest and claimed that farmers had lent no support to the party's three-day programme.
"Speaking up for farmers and raising the voice against the anti-farmer and anti-people policies of the government is a crime in the eyes of Gujarat government. Was arrested (sic) by the police (at) Aasodar, Anand for seeking #JusticeForFarmers and debt waiver for farmers in Gujarat," Chavda tweeted.
Talking to reporters, he said "Congress supports the demands of farmers. The BJP government has failed to fulfil promises made to them and we are committed to see that farmers get their due. The policies adopted by the BJP government are anti-farmer."
Rupani said, "The programme being held since the last three days is a Congress one. Nobody other than the Congress is supporting it. It is just to provoke people."
"I would like to tell the Congress is that, instead of throwing milk on the roads, they should go to Congress-ruled states like Karnataka and Punjab where farmers get a lower price for milk when compared to Gujarat," he said.
The Congress workers were detained when they threw vegetables and poured milk on the roads and blocked several roads on Sunday