Samajwadi Party workers were arrested by the police in the Hazratganj region.
Lucknow:
Samajwadi Party workers were arrested by police in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow on Friday as they staged a protest march against gang rape and Hathras’ agricultural laws.
The march which started from the party office was to end at Gandhi’s statue in the town where deputies and senior party leaders were to begin a “maun vrat” (vow of silence).
However, the protesters were stopped at Hazratganj crossing, where police had erected barricades.
As the SP workers insisted on being allowed to proceed, a heated argument ensued between the two sides, after which police personnel used a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
“Today, by arresting MPs and senior party leaders, going to sit on ‘Maun Vrat’ and dharna for ‘Hathras ki beti’, the government has violently suppressed the voice of truth to the occasion of the birthdays of Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. It is reprehensible ”, declared the national president of the party, Akhliesh Yadav.
We demand an FIR against the district magistrate and police superintendent of Hathras, he said.
“Stopping the peaceful march of deputies and SP leaders on the instructions of the chief minister is a murder of democracy,” the party said.
However, state police said measures have been taken to maintain law and order in the state.
“We detained SP workers, including MPs. They were taken from the place (Hazratganj),” said a senior police official.
