By IANS,
Nagpur : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were detained Tuesday evening and later released after they blockaded the Maharashtra assembly in Nagpur over the alleged irrigation scam, FDI in retail and price rise.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari, deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde, state BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar, and other leaders like Vinod Tawade and Eknath Khadse were detained as they reached the Vidhan Bhavan.
They were leading a 10,000-strong rally which started from Reshim Bagh near the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters here.
Nagpur is the second capital of Maharashtra and monsoon and winter sessions of the state legislature are held here.
Addressing the gathering of BJP supporters, Munde took pot shots at the government and accused them of wrongdoing and corruption.
Comparing the government to mythological demon Bhasmasura, Munde said: “The central government and the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-led state government are children of Bhasmasura. They are burning a hole in the pockets of the common man with increased prices. Many of their projects have crossed all boundaries of corruption, leading the country to destruction.”
Addressing the crowd, Gadkari sought an explanation on the White Paper on the alleged irrigation scam that gave a clean chit to reinducted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
“The White Paper on the irrigation scam is an eyewash. It has no mention of the massive corruption that has taken place in the project. It is of no use. It should be burnt,” Gadkari said.
The winter session of the state legislature began here Monday. The BJP set out to blockade the assembly to lodge its protest on various issues on the second day of the assembly session.
The BJP is demanding higher support price for cotton, paddy and soyabean, the three main crops of the Vidarbha region.
The party is also demanding Rs.6,000 per quintal for raw cotton while cotton growers are getting Rs.3,900 per quintal.
They also brought up other issues like high tariff for electricity and rationing of subsidised cooking gas cylinders for each household.