Youth Cong chief, others detained during protest in Bhopal

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 1 Shrut Kirti Somavanshi said police detained 60 Congress leaders and workers.

Police here on Thursday detained around 60 Congress leaders including Youth Congress chief Shrinivas BV as they tried to reach Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's residence to protest against ''inflation, unemployment and atrocities against tribals.'' Police also used water cannons to disperse the protesters, who numbered around 2,000, when they tried to climb the barricades near Red Cross Hospital.

Addressing the protesters at a nearby crossing, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said the BJP government has failed to rein in inflation, unemployment and corruption.

The state government has also failed to prevent the atrocities that are being committed on the members of tribal communities, the former chief minister alleged.

On May 3, two tribals were allegedly lynched by a mob on the suspicion that they had slaughtered a cow in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district. The BJP has police, money and administration to use against the opposition, but it would not stop Congress' protest, Nath said.

Before the protest, Nath appealed to the youth on Twitter to join in the ''fight to save Madhya Pradesh.'' "The MP government wants to quell the voice of the youth. We are going to form government in 2023 in MP," former Union minister Arun Yadav told reporters after police detained party leaders. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Shrut Kirti Somavanshi said police detained 60 Congress leaders and workers. They were let off later, he added.

Somavanshi denied that police used lathi-charge against the protesters.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)