BHOPAL: Morena MP Anoop Mishra and hundreds of BJP workers were arrested following a ruckus at bhoomi Pujan ceremony of 1000- bed hospital in Gwalior on Tuesday. Police resorted to mild lath charge and used water cannons to disperse angry party workers. Congress leader and Guna MP Jyotiradiya Scindia was scheduled to attend the ceremony.
Ahead of the ceremony, which was to be attended by Congress leader and Guna MP Jyotiradiya Scindia, BJP workers in thousands descended on the venue raising slogans against government and Scindia. The BJP supporters claimed former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had performed bhoomi pujan of the hospital in 2009 and the construction work had started.
They alleged that sitting government was taking credit of the development works initiated by previous government and showing them as their ventures. Accusing the government of ignoring elected representatives and union ministers, the BJP workers said Gwalior MP and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Mayor Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar and many other party functionaries were not invited for the ceremony.
Agitated party workers also tried to stop MLA Munnal Lal Goyal from going to the site. Police used water cannons to push back protestors, but in vain.
In the melee, one of the BJP office bearers and former Janpad member Jaswant Singh Gurjar slapped one of the cops prompting the police to resort to lathi charge on protestors. Gurjar was also thrashed by cops for obstructing them from performing their duty. Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said MP Scindia and other were to lay the foundation stone of the proposed hospital, but due to the BJP ruckus the programme was delayed by two hours. He claimed that Mishra himself had stated that land for the hospital was cleared in 2014, so how it is possible that the Bhoomi Pujan was done in the year 2009.
