Cong questions CM’s silence on scuffle

Bhubaneswar : The Congress on Friday raised questions on Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Maji’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 here, State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das also accused Director General of Police (DGP) Y B 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 on 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 on Thursday evening visited the hospital to enquire about the injured police personnel.

“However, the Chief Minister, who holds the Home department, neither visitedthem 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 teargas leaving many men and women of the party injured.”

Das claimed that the Congress activists 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 indulged 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 activists 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.