BHUBANESWAR: The
commissionerate police here on Wednesday foiled an attempt by
Youth Congress to gherao chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence in protest against farmer and unemployment crises. Some Youth Congress leaders sustained minor injuries following a clash with police personnel at
Raj Mahal, about four kilometres from
Naveen Niwas, the CM’s residence.
"We were headed towards Naveen Niwas to stage peaceful protest. But the CM used his police force to suppress our movement,” Indian Youth Congress president
Keshav Chand Yadav told media persons. Over 100 agitating leaders including Yadav, Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress president Lokanath Moharathy, former Youth Congress state president Sangram Keshari Jena and Jyoti Acharya were detained by the police. They were later let off without being arrested.
The permission for rallies and dharnas is never given to anyone near Naveen Niwas. Police said the Congress supporters were warned not to breach the high security area. “We had to block their rally near Raj Mahal as they ignored our advice and proceeded towards Naveen Niwas. We took them into preventive custody and later released them,” deputy commissioner of police Anup Sahoo said.
The rally towards Naveen Niwas followed a public meeting at
Congress Bhawan where senior leaders slammed BJD and BJP governments in state and Centre, respectively for allegedly addressing farmers’ issues and unemployment crisis. “Neither the Centre nor the state government has been able to provide jobs to youth. Our youth are forced to migrate to other states in search of jobs,” Congress leader Sangram Jena told the journalists.
Congress state president Niranjan Patnaik tweeted: “They (BJD and BJP) are the two sides of the same coin. They have failed to resolve the problems of youth, farmers and the common people of Odisha.”
Both BJD and BJP leaders refuted allegations of Congress. “People of the state and country know that the Congress was the worst performer during its reign. Congress has been rejected by people,” BJD and BJP stated.
