Youth Congress protest at BJP office triggers tension, arrests
Youth Congress workers protested at BJP's Hyderabad office, leading to arrests and a retaliatory egg-throwing at Congress headquarters.
Tension ran high at the BJP's State headquarters in Nampally on Monday after Youth Congress activists staged a protest, allegedly applying black paint to one of the office gates and burning an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The demonstration was organised to condemn the reported shuddhikaran ceremony held at a venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier addressed a public meeting. The protesters, led by Telangana Youth Congress president Jakkidi Shiva Charan Reddy, also demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged use of pellet guns during a Congress-led protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last month against the NEET question paper leak.
Police intervened and foiled the protest, taking Shiva Charan Reddy and several other Youth Congress leaders and activists into custody and shifting them to a police station. In a retaliatory move, BJP Yuva Morcha activists later protested at Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters, by throwing eggs. Police managed to control the situation and prevent it from escalating into a major clash.
Reacting to the incident, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the police and questioned the functioning of the State intelligence machinery. He asked how the Youth Congress activists were able to apply black paint to the BJP office gate and burn an effigy outside the premises in broad daylight. He questioned whether the police and intelligence agencies were functioning effectively, and alleged that the police had failed to provide adequate security to the State headquarters of a national political party. He demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the incident and their production before the court.