BHUBANESWAR: President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das on Thursday blamed the police for the violence during the Assembly gherao programme of the party.
Das said Congress activists retaliated when provoked. The party workers were marching in a peaceful manner when the security forces stopped them forcefully and attacked them, he alleged and claimed police beat up them up brutally during the demonstration.
Asserting that Congress workers did not indulge in violence, Das said some outsiders who came from behind the stage erected for party leaders were responsible for the violent activities. “These people pelted stones at the police. We condemn the stone pelting on police by outsiders,” he said and added that Congress never resorts to violence.
The OPCC president, however, criticised the state government for using police to stop vehicles carrying Congress workers to the rally from several parts of the state. The police were utilised as ‘goondas’ to stop and threaten Congress workers, but despite that the agitation was a great success. Of around 25,000 to 30,000 Congress workers who attended the protest meeting, around 10,000 were stopped on their way.
