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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, August 18: Eight persons, including the son of a Congress MLA, were injured and Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Poornima Sethi roughed up in a face-off between supporters of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in Ambedkar Nagar at around 11 a.m. today.
Poornima Sethi was in the Sangam Vihar area of Ambedkar Nagar to inaugurate a road. Following the ceremony, she was speaking about the welfare activities of the BJP government when some of the local residents brought up the issue of price rise. The versions of what followed next varies, depending on the party that it is coming from.
According to the BJP spokesperson: “Sethi had just finished inaugurating the road when some Congress supporters started shouting slogans and women surrounded her with sticks and brooms, some of whom manhandled her and pulled at her saree.”
According to Congress spokesperson: “Sethi answered the residents’ problems saying that they are all due to Congress regimes before the BJP rule. The residents got furious and assaulted her.”
Ambedkar Nagar police have registered a case of rioting and assault on public servant. “The fight began when the minister said she had always taken care of this area, and the Congress workers started saying she had always neglected it,” the station house officer said.
Those injured are Devender Sharma, son of Congress MLA Tek Chand Sharma, driver of Sethi’s car Kader Behl and her escort Constable Ram Jit Singh. Poornima Sethi was not available for comment till late in the night.
