Chandigarh, Aug 5 (PTI) Police here on Wednesday used water cannons to stop Punjab Youth Congress and ABVP activists from marching towards the Punjab Vidhan Sabha during separate protests over alleged examination paper leaks, with both groups demanding the resignation of state Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.
The Punjab Youth Congress members had gathered outside the State Congress office in Sector 15 and planned to march towards the Vidhan Sabha to ‘gherao’ it.
Chandigarh Police had put up barricades outside the Congress office and did not allow the protesters, led by Indian Youth Congress president Udai Bhanu Chib, to proceed.
When the protesters tried to cross the barricades, police used water cannons to disperse them and later briefly detained them.
In a separate protest, activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), affiliated to the RSS, gathered near the rally ground in Sector 25 and planned to march to the Vidhan Sabha, where the monsoon session is currently underway.
Police had erected barricades near the rally ground and stopped the ABVP protesters from proceeding towards the Vidhan Sabha. When the protesters attempted to cross the barricades, water cannons were used to stop them.
Speaking to reporters, Chib said that whenever the youth raise their voice, they have to face water cannons and lathicharge.
“During the recent student protest in Delhi, the police under Union Home Minister Amit Shah, tried to suppress the voice of the students and over here the Bhagwant Mann government is trying to suppress the voice of Punjab’s youth. Like Dharmendra Pradhan had to resign as Union Education Minister, the Punjab Education Minister will also have to resign,” he said.
At the separate ABVP protest, a member said they were holding a peaceful demonstration against multiple alleged paper leaks and demanding the resignation of Bains.
“The Bhagwant Mann government is sitting like a mute spectator. The Chief Minister should ask his Education Minister to resign… Over here, students are holding peaceful protest and we wanted to march from rally ground to Vidhan Sabha. Can students not even hold peaceful protest?” she asked.
Opposition parties in Punjab have also raised the alleged paper leak issue.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday alleged that six examination paper leak incidents had taken place during the AAP regime, targeting the Bhagwant Mann government over the issue.
The opposition has been stepping up its attack on the AAP government over alleged multiple examination paper leaks following the detection of a recent cheating racket in the pharmacy officer recruitment examination.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, however, has reiterated that not even a single incident of paper leak has taken place in Punjab during the more than four years of his government. PTI SUN NB NB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.