Eight NSUI workers arrested for showing black flag to RSS chief in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police on Friday arrested eight NSUI activists for holding a demonstration and showing black flags to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during his travel in Bhubaneswar the previous day.

The arrested youths, who were detained by the police on Thursday evening from the spot, were in the age group of 19 years to 24 years. They were booked under several sections of the BNS.

The workers of the Congress' student wing were protesting against Bhagwat’s recent remark on India's Independence and demanded an apology. On the first anniversary of Ram temple’s consecration, Bhagwat had said the day should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi," marking the establishment of India’s "true independence" after centuries of foreign invasions The RSS chief was on a five-day tour to Odisha from Thursday and the incident happened when he was going to attend a memorial meeting at Jaydev Bhawan in the city.

Though tight security arrangements were in place, around 20 NSUI activists led by Udit Pradhan (president, NSUI, Bhubaneswar), "unlawfully assembled" carrying placards and black flags, and started shouting slogans such as "Mohan Bhagwat, Go Back", the police said in a statement.

A police officer asked them to disperse to maintain security, but they ignored his request and attempted to breach the police cordon "to detain and harm the dignitary", the statement said.

It accused the NSUI workers of using obscene language against the police, issuing threats and attacking the police personnel.

The police then detained NSUI's Bhubaneswar unit president Udit Pradhan and seven others besides seizing an SUV used by them. The other members of the organisation fled.

"The detainees also applied criminal force to them (police personnel) in order to escape from custody," the statement said.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik criticized the state’s BJP government for the arrest of eight young men below 25 years.

“They have not created any violence and taken law into hand. Staging black flag demonstrations is a part of the agitation and protest. That does not amount to arrest of young men,” said Patnaik, a former state Congress president.

This reflects the BJP’s “intolerant” attitude towards political opponents, he alleged.

Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal defended the police action claiming some of the arrested persons have crime records.

They are not simply innocent young men as claimed by Patnaik, he said.

Biswal also defended Bhgwat’s comment on Independence and claimed that it was not different from those of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar.