Gurugram: A protest by the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) Haryana unit against Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest outside Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s Kurukshetra residence turned bloody Friday, leaving several injured, some seriously.
Among the injured were senior vice-president of AAP Haryana, Anurag Dhanda, who was seen bleeding profusely from his head, and the party’s candidate from Kurukshetra and state president Dr Sushil Gupta.
Media coordinator for AAP Haryana, Vaibhav Tiwari, said more than a hundred party workers sustained injuries, of whom over 70 were grievously hurt.
Former minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Arora, who visited the Kurukshetra hospital after the incident, said he could count 42 AAP workers with injuries while some others were yet to be brought in.
Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria however said the police had used mild force and that about 15-16 workers and an equal number of security personnel had been wounded in the clash. He accused the AAP of triggering it.
Bhoria added that the police would register an FIR after being free from writing up medico-legal reports.
AAP Haryana had announced protests outside Saini’s Kurukshetra residence Thursday, soon after Delhi chief minister and AAP founder Kejriwal was arrested in the excise policy case. Saini is still an MP from Kurukshetra.
Hundreds of cadres from across Haryana, led by Sushil Gupta and Anurag Dhanda, started assembling near Saini’s residence near Jindal Chowk on Friday.
The police had made elaborate arrangements, including heavy barricading, to stop workers from reaching Saini’s house.
As protesters raised slogans and tried to cross the barricades in the afternoon, the police used water cannons and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them.
Speaking to the media later, Gupta said: “This BJP government at the Centre is cowardly and is afraid of the AAP. Fearing a defeat in the elections, the government arrested Kejriwal and is using force against our workers.”
He appealed to the police through the public address system to arrange for ambulances for the injured.
Congress leader Ashok Arora, whose party is a national ally of AAP, told ThePrint that the central government had crossed all limits of “shame and decency” and was out to stop those who could challenge it.
“This has been the style of the BJP from the very beginning. When farmers demanded minimum support price, the BJP government greeted them with tear gas shells and rubber bullets. The same treatment was given to sarpanches, and employees demanding the old pension scheme and Asha workers,” he said.
Arora said the people of this country were watching and they would give a befitting reply to the BJP in the coming elections.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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