NEW DELHI: The BJP leaders and workers on Saturday held a demonstration near Congress headquarters on Akbar Road here against a "shirtless" protest by the latter's youth wing at the AI Impact Summit, which eventually took a violent turn.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image. Later, BJP and Congress members resorted to stone pelting.
Indore unit party president Chintu Choukse alleged that eight Congress workers were injured in the attack, while BJP city chief Sumit Mishra claimed that nine Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and BJP workers, including three women were grievously hurt.
Police Sub Inspector R S Baghel too was reportedly injured in the stone pelting by protestors. Congress worker Vishal Chaturvedi alleged that some media persons also sustained injuries in the attack by the BJP men.
Leading the protest, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari termed the demonstration by IYC as an act of "treason".
Sachdeva, while addressing the protesters, said the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, are unable to digest the country's success.
While opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they have now started opposing India.
"The protest by hired goons of the Congress dented the image of the country on the world stage, and every Indian who takes pride in the success of the country is ashamed by it," he said.
Several BJP leaders, including state general secretary Vishnu Mittal and MLA Raj Kumar Bhatia, along with a large number of workers, gathered for the protest at Man Singh Road.
Police personnel stopped them at a barricade as they tried to march towards Congress headquarters at Akbar Road.
Acting on a BJP worker’s complaint, a case of rioting, unlawful assembly, obscene and abusive conduct and criminal conspiracy was lodged against 20 named Congress leaders and workers and dozens of unidentified men. Those named in the FIR lodged at Pandrinath police station, included the Congress’s city unit chief Chintu Choukse and rural unit chief and former MLA Vipin Vankhede.
Indore Congress chief Chintu Choukse alleged that the police had taken one-sided action against the Congress workers, despite the attack having been initiated by the BJP men.
“Some of those who have been named in the FIR, were actually not even present in Indore when the incident happened. Police action has been initiated against us under the ruling BJP and state government’s pressure. On the contrary, despite our leaders submitting a complaint with names of BJP leaders, the complaint has been registered by police under simple BNS sections and that too against unidentified accused. We will soon move the Court for justice,” Choukse said.
When questioned about his own party workers attacking the BJYM and BJP men and women with stones, Choukse said, “Maybe it was the BJP men who entered among our men and started pelting stones to get us booked in a false case.”
Indore BJP chief Sumit Mishra claimed that the Congress workers had already gathered stones to attack the BJYM men in advance.
“They not only attacked our men, but also misbehaved with our women workers. At least nine of our workers, including three women have been hurt, one of them Indu Chouhan has sustained multiple injuries, after which the doctors have put 14 stitches.”
Meanwhile, face-off between BJYM workers and Congress activists was also reported from other parts of the state, including Gwalior, Ujjain and Bhopal, but no major injury was reported.
In Bhopal too BJYM workers proceeded to the Congress office, despite heavy police presence, resulting in an ugly face off between young workers of both the parties.
On Friday, a group of Indian Youth Congress workers staged a dramatic "shirtless protest" at the AI Impact Summit exhibition hall in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam, walking around holding t-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them.
Following the incident, the Delhi Police arrested four IYC workers in connection with the protest at the Summit venue, with a senior officer saying that a probe for a wider conspiracy is underway.
AI Impact Summit, inaugurated by Modi, concluded on Friday.
Several heads of state, global AI leaders, academicians and researchers, heads of global tech giants and philanthropists attended the massive meet held at Bharat Mandapam.
(With inputs from PTI)