DEHRADUN: Tension flared in the Uttarakhand capital on Wednesday as BJP workers marched towards the state Congress headquarters to protest against Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's demonstration near the Prime Minister's residence, prompting police to barricade roads and keep rival groups apart.
The protest unfolded amid a mounting political confrontation over alleged examination paper leaks. Students and Opposition parties have been demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and a debate in Parliament.
Led by Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, party workers set out from the BJP's metropolitan office for the Congress Bhawan on Rajpur Road. Police stopped the procession at barricades near Parade Ground and Kanak Chowk, leading to heated arguments between protesters and police personnel.
Unable to move ahead, BJP workers sat on the road and raised slogans against Gandhi.
Congress leaders and workers, meanwhile, gathered outside their headquarters and shouted slogans against the BJP-led government. Additional barricades near Ashley Hall prevented them from reaching Kanak Chowk.
"This protest was meant to remind Congress of democratic decorum," Bhatt said. "The manner in which Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in outside the Prime Minister's residence is unprecedented. He is trying to create such an atmosphere across the country."
BJP spokesperson Kamlesh Raman accused Gandhi of indulging in "shameful acts" and said the country could not be run through such politics. She contrasted Gandhi's alleged absences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work schedule, claiming Modi worked 18 hours a day.
State BJP media in-charge Manveer Chauhan alleged that Congress was attempting to create "anarchy" and mislead young people.
"The BJP wants peace. We are protesting peacefully and after giving prior notice," he said, rejecting Congress's charge that the march was provocative.
Congress state general secretary Rajendra Shah hit back, condemning the removal of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from the Delhi protest and alleging police excesses against students and women demonstrators.
"The lathi-charge on students was brutal and shameful. Delhi Police also misbehaved with women," Shah alleged.
The immediate trigger was the Opposition's protest in Delhi, but Wednesday's mobilisation brought the national dispute to Uttarakhand's streets.
BJP leaders framed their march as a defence of democratic norms, while Congress maintained that the government was avoiding accountability over the paper leak controversy and suppressing peaceful dissent by students nationwide.
A heavy police deployment remained in place as both sides traded accusations across the barricades. Though the rival groups came close to confrontation, police cordons ensured there was no direct clash.
