Jharkhand stir: BJP workers burn tyres, block roads as protests escalate

Ranchi: BJP workers burned tyres and blocked roads as protests continued to escalate in Ranchi on Tuesday. The party had earlier called for statewide bandh in protest against police “brutality” against students during their march towards state Assembly a day on Monday. The police also detained a number of protesters as they tried to march from the old Assembly building to the new Assembly.

The protest are going on in the state against cancellations of several examinations and are demanding an independent investigation by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges. On Tuesday, ABVP members started marching from the old Vidhan Sabha area in Ranchi.

The police, on Tuesday, said that BJP workers blocked roads on Kanke Road as well as in Kishorganj, Argora and Kanke localities. They also burnt tyres were burnt near Nucleus Mall, Harmu Chowk and Kishorganj Chowk, disrupting movements of traffic in these areas, India Today reported.

Several ABVP members detained

Several members Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP), the student-wing of the RSS were also detained on Tuesday. They had earlier called for the march in protest against the lathicharge on students on Monday. They had earlier announced their decision to gherao the state assembly. On Monday, thousands of protesters marched towards the assembly.

They not only breached barricades, but also clashed with the police. During the protests, the police used water cannons near Jagannathpur Temple. They also fired tear gas shells on students. Several of protesters claimed of being injured by the police. The police, in the other hand, said 14 of their personnel were injured during the protest.

Ruling, Opposition MPs raise slogans in Parliament

The ruling and the Opposition MPs came face to face at the Parliament main gate on Tuesday in the national capital. The MPs protested and raised counter-slogans on police “brutality” on protesters in Jharkhand and issues related to alleged donation theft at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.

Even as the NDA MPs accused Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of “running away” from a debate on student protests in the country, Opposition MPS demanded accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged police action against students at the national capital on July 20 over paper leaks, news agency PTI reported. The NDA MPs had earlier marched from the Parliament Library to ‘Makar Dwar’ after attending a meeting of coalition parties. They also raised slogans like ‘Rahul Gandhi Jawab Do’, among others.