Guj Cong leaders, workers detained during pro-farmer rally

Around 300 Congress workers and leaders were Tuesday detained when they tried to take out a march towards the Assembly complex here seeking waiver of farm loan, police said.

Gujarat Congress had organised a gathering of farmers and party workers at Satyagrah Chhavni to mount pressure on the BJP government over the farm loan waiver demand.

However, Congress workers, led by the party's state unit chief Amit Chavda and state party in-charge Rajiv Satav, were detained immediately after they started marching towards the Assembly complex from Satyagrah Chhavni area here.

"Around 300 Congress workers were detained when they tried to reach the Assembly complex. They were later released," an official from Gandhinagar police control room said.

According to police, the party was not granted permission to take out a rally.

"The permission was only for the gathering at Satyagrah Chhavni and not for the rally," a police official said.

Although the protest was largely carried out in a peaceful manner, a police constable was injured in an isolated incident of stone pelting during the process of detention of partymen, in-charge Superintendent of Police, K F Badolia, said.

Since the two-day monsoon session of the Gujarat Assembly began today, Congress workers, led by Chavda and Satav, marched towards the Assembly complex to 'gherao' it on the issue. However, all of them were detained before they could reach the complex.

Other party leaders, who were detained briefly, included former state party chief Arjun Modhwadia and MLA Harshad Ribadia.

Earlier, during his address to the gathering at Satyaghara Chhavni, Satav accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of helping only the businessmen and ignoring farmers.

"The entire country had high hopes from Modi when he assumed office in 2014. But even four-and-a-half years later, he has failed to fulfil any of his poll promises. If Congress governments in Punjab and other states can waive loans, why not the Gujarat government?" he asked.

According to Modhwadia, farmers in Gujarat are reeling under a debt of around Rs 65,000 crore.

After being released from the detention, Chavda said although the party workers could not 'gherao' the Assembly, the programme was a success.

He said his party would continue to mount pressure on the government over the issue of farm loan waiver by conducting similar programmes in the future.