After not getting ticket in Datia by-election, Narottam Mishra appealed to his supporters for peace. Despite this, the workers demonstrated violently, blocked NH-44 and pelted stones. Many policemen and DM were injured in the violence. Police used tear gas.
Dabra (Madhya Pradesh) [भारत]July 11 (ANI): BJP leader Narottam Mishra on Saturday appealed to party workers to maintain peace and avoid any kind of protests. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has refused to give him ticket for the upcoming Datia Assembly by-election.
Speaking to reporters, the BJP leader said the party’s decision should be respected and urged workers not to take extreme steps like pouring petrol or kerosene in the protest. He said differences should be expressed through appropriate party forums and not in this manner. He said, “This is the party’s decision. I urge all party workers, especially after seeing videos on social media of workers pouring petrol or kerosene, not to indulge in such acts. Within the party forum, views are expressed in an appropriate manner. They are not stated in this manner.”
Fierce demonstration by supporters despite Mishra’s appeal
His appeal came after massive protests by his supporters in Datia turned violent, leaving eight policemen injured and traffic disrupted in four districts after protesters blocked National Highway-44 for nearly 11 hours.
National Highway remained jammed for 11 hours
Datia District Magistrate Swapnil Wankhede said the jam started on Friday evening and continued till around 5 am on Saturday morning, causing a 20-25 km long traffic jam and affecting Datia, Jhansi, Shivpuri and Gwalior districts. Wankhede told ANI, “The traffic jam continued till 5 am, which lasted for about eleven hours… Many buses and ambulances remained stuck in the jam.”
Stones pelted on police, many injured including DM-SP
The District Magistrate said that the administration tried all night to convince the protesters to remove the blockade peacefully. However, when talks failed, the protesters reportedly resorted to stone pelting, prompting the police to use tear gas. According to Wankhede, protesters later entered an office building and continued pelting stones at policemen from inside. Eight policemen, including the SDPO, Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional SP, suffered serious injuries, he said. Despite wearing a helmet, Wankhede also suffered head injuries. Several police vehicles and trucks were damaged during the violence. He said the administration avoided lathi charge and relied on persuasion and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Datia Superintendent of Police Mayur Khandelwal said over 3,000 protesters tried to disrupt normalcy in the city by blocking the highway and closing markets. He said, “The Collector and I repeatedly talked to them to leave from here and call off ‘Chakka Jam’. At around 4 in the morning, they suddenly pelted stones at the police. The police fired tear gas shells, after which the stone pelting intensified.”
The SP said that more than six policemen suffered serious injuries, while he and the additional SP were also injured. He said that several protesters have been detained and further legal action will be taken.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Manjeet Singh Chawla said traffic was diverted to alternative routes, ambulances were allowed to pass and efforts were on to restore normal movement.
Why is by-election being held in Datia?
The protest began when the BJP on Friday declared Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate for the Datia Assembly by-election in place of Mishra, who had lost the seat in the 2023 assembly elections.
The Election Commission of India has announced that voting for the Datia Assembly by-election will take place on July 30, while the counting of votes will take place on August 3. The Datia assembly seat had fallen vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a fraud case. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)