BHOPAL: Over ten prominent state Congress leaders were injured, some critically, when the stage at the Madhya Pradesh Kisan Congress’s protest rally collapsed in the heart of Bhopal on Monday.
The incident occurred when the overcrowded stage at the state Kisan Congress protest rally near Rangmahal Square gave way, causing major injuries to several leaders, particularly those seated in the back rows.
Among the injured were state Congress Vice President Rajiv Singh, who suffered severe abdominal wounds, and former state Congress Media Wing Head Manak Agrawal, who sustained a head injury.
Other injured leaders included state Kisan Congress Head Dharmendra Chauhan, former MLAs Shailendra Patel and Ravi Joshi, state spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta, state General Secretary Roshni Yadav, former National Seva Dal President Mahendra Joshi, and former MP Mahila Congress Seva Dal Chief Rajkumari Raghuvanshi.
While some leaders, like Bhupendra Gupta, received primary treatment and were allowed to go home, others, including Rajiv Singh and Manak Agrawal, sustained severe injuries and have been hospitalized.
The mishap occurred on the first day of the MP Vidhan Sabha's budget session, which, with only nine sittings, is one of the shortest budget sessions in the state's history.
The MP Kisan Congress had called for a gherao of the Vidhan Sabha building to protest farmers' issues, but the administration and police did not allow the march towards the assembly building.
As a result, the Kisan Congress held a protest rally at Rangmahal Square, where the stage collapse took place.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders, including state party chief Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, were among those stopped by the police from participating in the protest march, with water cannons being used to disperse them.