Jammu, Oct 8: I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders and workers were briefly detained in Katra before their scheduled protest against Election Commission of India (ECI) in Reasi district on Thursday while in Jammu, JKPCC leaders protested while observing black day against the arrest of LOP Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other opposition leaders in the union capital.
In Jammu city, the Police and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) leaders on Thursday had a minor scuffle during a protest demonstration, as part of the nationwide call for “black day in democracy” and “detention and manhandling of the Leader of Opposition (LOP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other opposition leaders in New Delhi during past two days.”
Led by senior leaders of PCC and DCC Jammu urban and Jammu rural, the Congress workers demonstrated at Shaheedi Chowk Jammu, leading to a minor scuffle with a heavy contingent of Police personnel, who prevented their march.
Speaking to the media, JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla lashed out at the central BJP leadership accusing it of crushing the dissent in the country.
“The action against LOP Rahul Gandhi and around 300 MPs, peacefully marching in New Delhi, shows the frustration of the BJP government. But Congress and I.N.D.I.A Bloc leaders will continue their fight to save democracy and the right to vote for all citizens. There is a need to check and streamline the system to save the Right to Vote of every citizen and free and fair elections through ballot paper under an impartial Election Commission by removing Gyanesh Kumar,” Bhalla demanded.
Former minister and DCC president Jammu urban Yogesh Sawhney termed the actions of the central government as “utter frustration due to the mass movement of Congress and joint opposition.”
JKPCC chief spokesperson and ex MLC Ravinder Sharma accused the central government of imposing an “undeclared emergency in the country out of the fear of public upsurge over the vote Chori and illegal deletion of over 13 crores of voters through SIR.”
DCC Jammu rural president Neeraj Kundan maintained that the Congress workers and younger generation would not tolerate, what he alleged, “the hijacking of democracy by the BJP” and the protests would continue to save democracy.
Meanwhile, several senior I.N.D.I.A. Bloc leaders including former ministers Jugal Kishore Sharma, Jagjeevan Lal, ex-MLA Mumtaz Khan, DCC president Ajay Salalia and Bhupinder Singh Jamwal; Raj Kumar and Tariq Bhat of National Conference; Om Prakash of CPM and various others were detained at Police Station Katra and at other places before their scheduled protest in Reasi district on Thursday.
JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, while speaking to media in Jammu, termed the action of Police as “arbitrary and illegal” and maintained that “such dictatorial policies would be opposed tooth and nail to save democracy.”
He said that before detention, the lelater,aders and workers held protests at Balni Gate on Katra-Reasi Road as part of the “Save democracy” campaign.
All the detained leaders were released later.
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