the goan I network
PANAJI
Violence was seen on the DB Marg in Panjim city on Friday evening when around 300 BJP workers who marched to the Congress House allegedly began throwing plastic bottles, old footwear including shoes and sandals, and stones at the approximately 15 Congress workers present at their headquarters.
BJP workers who had organised a march to protest against Congress allegedly misguiding public about the Rafale deal, were in no mood to accept the Congress workers’ offering them flowers and samosas.
State BJP president Vinay Tendulkar allegedly overthrew the platter of samosas which the Congress workers had brought, and the saffron party’s supporters later resorted to burning an effigy of Congress national president Rahul Gandhi on the road.
The Congress had, upon learning of the BJP’s planned protest, prepared a banner “welcoming the Goa BJP to expose the lies of the Rafale deal”, which they put on display and also attempted to hand out flowers and somasas. The Congress was, however, met with protestors carrying BJP flags and shouting slogans against Rahul Gandhi and throwing objects.
Some of the BJP workers later accosted state Congress Mahila president Pratima Coutinho which led to a scuffle with the Congress workers retaliating.
Police personnel led by Panjim Police Inspector Siddhanth Shirodkar later arrived on the scene to control the situation which was threatening to get violent and out of hand.
Police, while managing to keep the 15-20 Congress workers in control by forming a barricade around them keeping their lathis at hand to keep them confined, were unable to control the boisterous BJP protestors who continued to shout slogans of Gandhi being a liar and throwing missiles in the direction of the Congress office from across the road.
The large number of BJP protestors also blocked the road for around an hour, after which they started marching away. No one suffered any serious injurious, but both sides got involved in heated arguments against each other.
