By IANS,
Lucknow : Union Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal Friday said Congress party activists would launch a massive agitation in Uttar Pradesh if complaints lodged against four of the party leaders, including two union ministers, in an assault case were not withdrawn.
Union ministers Jitin Prasada and R.P.N. Singh, and two state legislators, Pramod Tiwari and Naseeb Pathan were booked Tuesday, a day after they roughed up a handful of Samajwadi Party (SP) workers who broke through the security cordon of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi at a programme in Allahabad’s Phulpur constituency.
“The act by our four Congress leaders was part of private defence for Rahul Gandhi. Instead of taking action against those who broke the security ring to reach Gandhi, our leaders have been booked. Our leaders suspected foul play and got worried for the safety of Gandhi,” Jaiswal told reporters in Varanasi, some 250 km from Lucknow.
“We demand that cases against them (four leaders) must be withdrawn and strict action taken against SP activists, else we will hit the streets,” he added.
Jaiswal claimed that in order to cover up the “serious security breach”, the state government got an FIR lodged against the four Congress leaders with ulterior motives.
The FIR against the four Congress leaders was lodged in Allahabad’s Jhunsi police station under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 504 (insult with intention of provoking breach of peace).