Lathicharge, stone-pelting during Congress protest; party says leaders hurt

LUCKNOW: A protest called by Congress here led to violent scenes amidst a lathicharge by police and stone -pelting by the workers of the opposition party, who claimed that their senior leaders were hurt in the police action.

Congress said that its state unit president Nirmal Khatri and the AICC in-charge of state affairs, Madhusudan Mistry, were among those injured in the lathicharge near Laxman Mela grounds in the state capital.

The Congress workers wanted to march towards the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in protest over issues like the poor law and order situation and corruption in the Samajwadi Party-ruled state.

"Several Congress workers and leaders, like UPCC president Nirmal Khatri, AICC in-charge of state affairs Madhusudan Mistry, Sanjay Singh, among others, were injured in police's lathicharge to foil the programme to gherao the Assembly over various problems confronting the state," said Congress Legislature Party leader, Pradip Mathur.

Senior Congress leaders like Sriprakash Jaiswal, Raj Babbar, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Pramod Tewari and all party MLAs took part in the protest, he said, adding that doctors have been summoned and medical aid being provided to those injured.

The protesters were prevented by policemen, who were deployed in large numbers, from moving towards the state Assembly and were later taken to the Police Lines.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that the Congress workers retaliated to the police action by engaging in brick-batting. They claimed that some scribes and photo-journalists, too, were injured during the incident.

Congress had asked party workers to gather at the Mela grounds before commencing the march towards the Assembly against the dismal law and order situation, corruption, atrocities on Dalits and women, communal tension, power scarcity, in UP, among others.