Chidambaram assures to look into police excesses committed during BJP rally
By ANIFriday, February 25, 2011
NEW DELHI - Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday assured the agitating members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that he would look into any police excesses committed during a BJP rally here.
Responding to the concern expressed by senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu, who demanded a judicial inquiry into the police attack on its workers, Chidambaram quoting a police report in the Rajya Sabha said 28 BJP workers, two media persons and 15 police personnel were injured in the incident.
“Only person with serious injuries was admitted to the RML hospital,” he added.
Chidambaram said that he would also examine the video recording of the incident. He said the police had resorted to ‘lathi-charge’ only after it failed to control the BJP workers through water cannoning.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, later drew attention of the Home Minister to the newspaper reports and asked him to independently ascertain the facts.
Earlier raising the issue during the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, BJP leader Naidu alleged that party workers, including Delhi BJP President Vijender Gupta, were attacked without any provocation.
“Police used water cannons and started beating people,” he said.
About 40 persons were reportedly injured on Thursday in a demonstration by BJP workers at Jantar Mantar, demanding dismissal of the Sheila Dikshit Government in Delhi.
Delhi BJP President Vijender Gupta, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra and former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana led the workers during the demonstration. (ANI)
