Indore/Bhopal, July 6
High drama was witnessed today when a delegation of senior Congress leaders, including former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, was detained after being stopped at the Indore airport itself from visiting riot affected areas
in the city.
The delegation was not allowed by the district administration to proceed on the ground their visit would hamper efforts to restore peace in the city under curfew since the outbreak of violence on July 3 during the VHP bandh.
Besides AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, two Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria and V. Narayansami, MPCC chief Suresh Pachouri and party’s campaign committee chairman Ajai Singh were also detained for a few hours at the Devi Ahilya airport before being taken to the nearby Dewas Circuit House. Till late tonight, the five Congress leaders were confined to the Circuit House.
Denied curfew passes for their visit, a livid Digvijay Singh, who ruled Madhya Pradesh for 10 years, slammed the BJP-ruled government for the Indore violence accusing it of being “non-functional and totally inexperienced”. The state government had “mishandled” the situation on the bandh day, he alleged. Six persons died in communal clashes since last Thursday for which Digvijay Singh blamed it on saffron party activists.
“They (the government) are totally responsible for the riots,” he said, alleging that “all riots in the country takes place because of the collusion of the RSS, the VHP and SIMI.” In Bhopal, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Jamuna Devi accompanied by party workers and leaders staged a dharna before the official residence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and demanded the immediate release of
the Congress leaders and that they be provided curfew passes to visit the affected areas.
All officials concerned were informed by Jamuna Devi that while senior party leaders were being stopped from visiting the riot-hit areas, volunteers and activists of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP were roaming freely and taking out processions in and around the same areas.
Devi told officials that she would call off her protest once the party leaders were given curfew passes to visit the areas and those involved in riots were arrested.
SP Jaideep Prasad told PTI that 96 Congressmen were arrested under Section 151 of the IPC.
Soon after Jamuna Devi’s dharna, BJP state unit chief Narendra Tomar called a press conference and described the Congress leaders’ attempt to visit affected areas in Indore as “a political stunt”. Defending district administration’s decision to stop the Congress delegation from visiting the riot-affected areas where normalcy was returning “gradually”, he said the action was taken in the larger interest of society to maintain peace.
Tomar said the Chief Minister on his part after getting the information about the visit of senior Congress leaders sent minister Kailash Vijayvargiya to dissuade them from visiting the area on the plea that it would not help restore peace.
“When all these attempts failed, the district administration decided to confine them within the airport premises itself,” Tomar said, adding that they were not arrested.
— PTI
