More than 10,000 Congress workers, including senior leaders like Moti Lal Vora, AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai, UP Congress Committee chief Arun Kumar Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari, turned out to protest against what they termed forcible occupation by the Mayawati government of land marked for the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan Project. Amid heavy security, the Congress workers started pouring into the state Capital early in the morning from all corners of the state shouting anti-Mayawati slogans. Hundreds of partymen courted arrest after police prevented them from marching to the State Assembly from the Laxman Mela Grounds where the party leaders gathered to make speeches. Police resorted to a mild lathicharge after some of the demonstrators tried to sneak into the state Assembly premises. Later, the protesters blocked the road outside the Assembly for more than an hour paralysing traffic there. ‘‘We are not going to sit idle. The protest has started today and it will continue till the land is renamed after our great leader (Indira Gandhi). A special committee has been formed which will look after future agitational plans,’’ said Arun Kumar Singh.
