Violence disrupts rally

VADODARA, July 20: The city Congress rally in protest against the rising prices of edible oil, turned violent in Lehripura on Monday when...

VADODARA, July 20: The city Congress rally in protest against the rising prices of edible oil, turned violent in Lehripura on Monday when party workers allegedly began pelting the police with stones, provoking response with teargas and lathicharges. One constable sustained minor injuries, while around 100 Congress workers, including front-rank city leaders, were arrested.

Violence was also reported in the Congress rally in Ahmedabad, though the rally in Surat was largely peaceful.

Trouble erupted in Vadodara over the route of the rally, after the police asked the party workers to stick to the sanctioned route to the Collectorate via Polo Club, Lehripura, Nyay Mandir and Raopura Road.

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A mob of workers, led by city Congress unit president Narendra Rawat, former MP Satyajitsinh Gaekwad and former mayor Dalsukh Prajapati, attempted to break the police cordon and a section began pelting the police with stones. A police spokesman said they fired at least one teargas shell and lathi charged workers to control the crowd. All the leaders mentioned were taken under arrest.

Tension gripped the entire Nyay Mandir area for at least 10 minutes, with traders downing shutters across the locality. The worst-hit was the Padmavati Complex; brief stone-pelting was also witnessed near the Citadel Complex on Raopura Road. Another minor incident occurred near Kothi Chowk.

Later in the evening, a delegation of Congress leaders — including party State general secretary Maulin Vaishnav — held a demonstration in front of the Collectorate against BJP rule and submitted a memorandum against the government. Vaishnav told Express Newsline that their stir would be intensified if the arrested workers were not released immediately.

The process of releasing them was underway, Police Commissioner Kuldeep Sharma said.

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Elaborating on the day’s incidents, Sharma said the police had resorted to teargassing and lathicharging only when the mob seemed to be going out of control. “However, there was no untoward iincident barring a minor incidentof stone-pelting by some unknown persons”, he said.

Incidentally, Vaishnav and Gaekwad alleged that the stone-pelters had been planted by the BJP in the midst of Congress workers. A complaint to this effect was sent to Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel later in the evening.

The rally, which started off from Polo Club at 4 p.m., included more than 50 vehicles displaying banners and placards criticising BJP government’s failure to check the spiralling prices of edible oil.