Over a dozen injured as stage collapses during Madhya Pradesh Congress' protest against BJP govt

Bhopal: More than a dozen persons were injured after a stage collapsed at a protest event organised by the Congress on the first day of Madhya Pradesh assembly's Budget Session in Bhopal on Monday, leaders from the opposition party said.

The incident took place when leaders were addressing protesters near Rangmahal Square before the planned march to the assembly complex to highlight the failures and anti-farmer policies of the BJP government in MP, party MLA Jaivardhan Singh told PTI.

The injured include five women, while three to four persons have sustained serious wounds, MP Congress spokesperson and co-coordinator of the party's media department Abhinav Barolia said.

"MP Kisan Congress president Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, MP Party chief Jitu Patwari's political advisor Rajiv Singh, senior leader Manak Agrawal, state unit general secretary Roshani Yadav and MP Congress Mahila Sewa Dal chief Rajkumari Raghuvanshi have been injured. I cannot give an exact number of the injured since they are all admitted in different hospitals. Some three to four persons have sustained serious wounds," Barolia said.

The stage may have collapsed due to overcrowding and the party was looking at various angles, he told PTI.

TT Nagar Assistant Commissioner of Police Chandra Shekhar Pandey said the Congress would be able to give the exact number of people who are injured.

"They were not injured in a clash with police or due to baton charge. So, I will not be able to say how many were injured. The Congress built the stage as well," Pandey added.

Meanwhile, the Congress' march to the assembly complex was stopped midway by police, which used water cannons.

"We barricaded the area to ensure the protesters do not march to the assembly," Bhopal Zone 1 Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rashmi Agarwal Dubey said.

MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari, who visited injured party functionaries at a hospital, said the protests against the Mohan Yadav government would continue with intensity till farmers get adequate prices for their produce.

The "sadak se sadan" (from the streets to the assembly) protest will go on till farmers get relief, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar said.