Pune: Tension prevailed outside the Pune City Congress office on Wednesday after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a protest in response to demonstrations held by Congress workers earlier in the day over the alleged paper leak issue.
Congress youth workers had first protested outside the office of Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol on Jangali Maharaj Road. They later held another demonstration near Raj Bhavan on Aundh Road, alleging irregularities in the paper leak case and condemning the police action at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where Congress leaders and workers were allegedly detained during a protest.
Soon after, BJP workers gathered outside the Pune Congress office and raised slogans against the opposition party. They accused the Congress of politicising the issue and attempting to gain political mileage through protests.
“The Congress is unnecessarily creating unrest by politicising the issue. They are using the protests only to gain political attention instead of allowing the investigation to take its course,” a BJP worker participating in the protest said. Slogans were also raised against senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
As BJP workers attempted to march towards the Congress office, police personnel stopped them from entering the premises. A heavy police deployment was made outside the office, and officers formed a security cordon to prevent any confrontation.
Minor jostling was reported between the protesters and police, but no violence or damage to property was reported. The situation was brought under control, and police continued to monitor the area as a precaution.
The back-to-back protests by the Congress and BJP highlighted the growing political confrontation over the alleged paper leak issue and the police action against Congress workers in Delhi.
