Shahjahanpur : Political tensions escalated at the district headquarters on Tuesday after Congress leaders and workers were detained during the by-poll., a strong protest at the Collectorate on Tuesday.
Congress workers staged a demonstration inside the Collectorate premises under the leadership of district president Rajneesh Gupta.
A delegation of party
Leaders met District Magistrate Dharmendra Pratap Singh and demanded , release all detained Congress party leaders and conduct
free and fair polling in
Election.
However, the talks remained inconclusive.
As the protest intensified with more workers joining in, former MP Ravi Prakash Verma and Hardoi District Congress President Vikram Pandey also reached the spot and expressed strong displeasure over the incident.
Rajneesh Gupta alleged that the police administration was acting under political pressure and detaining opposition leaders without justification to influence the election process. He claimed that several leaders, including former chairman Samiussahan Khan and candidate Wajid Ali Siddiqui, were placed under house arrest, while ruling party workers were allegedly creating disturbances openly.
Former MP Ravi Prakash Verma termed the action “repressive” and demanded the immediate release of detained leaders, along with a free and fair election. He said the Congress would not be intimidated.
In the afternoon, Additional District Magistrate (Finance) Arvind Kumar reached the protest site and attempted to hold discussions, but no consensus was reached as protesters remained firm on their demands.
The sit-in ended later in the evening after information was received that the detained Congress leaders had been released. Following this, the former MP announced the withdrawal of the protest. Party leaders said further strategy would be decided later.