BHUBANESWAR: The BJD’s protest against the recent government decision to curtail powers of elected panchayat representatives turned violent as workers clashed with police in their attempt to gherao the Assembly, which is currently in session, on Tuesday.
Hundreds of BJD leaders and workers gathered at the Lower PMG Square and attempted to break the barricades erected by the security personnel to prevent them from moving towards the Assembly and enter its premises. The activists broke two barricades, forcing police to use water cannons on them.
There was also a scuffle between the police and the party workers during the period. Police detained a large number of BJD activists to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
Deputy leader of Opposition Prasanna Acharya later told mediapersons that the BJP government is trying to destroy the panchayati raj system in the state by curtailing the power of the elected representatives. “The government has snatched the financial powers from people’s representatives and handed them to the block development officers (BDOs). We demand that the decision be rolled back,” he said.
The farmers’ wing of the Congress also attempted to gherao the Assembly on the day over the state government’s failure to resolve the fertiliser crisis.
Members of the Odisha Pradesh Kissan Congress (OPKC) went in a procession from the Master Canteen square to the Assembly. They sat on a dharna when the police stopped them in front of the Lower PMG Square. Later, police picked up several demonstrators to clear the area.
Alleging large-scale irregularities in the distribution of fertilisers, president of the OPKC Abhay Sahu said farmers are purchasing fertilisers at a higher price due to black marketing.
Both the parties said they would intensify their agitation over the issues.