JOIN USCongress wants to convert peaceful farmers’ protest into bloodshed: BJP
The BJP Saturday alleged the Congress wants to convert peaceful farmers' protest into "bloodshed", and accused the Punjab government of orchestrating an attack on BJP workers in the state during an event to celebrate former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday.
BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam said Congress' Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said in a media statement that the ongoing farmers' protest will not end ‘and to achieve our objective we can even pile up bodies, shed blood and go to any extent'.
"If there is any bloodshed or loss (of life) in the coming days, then the Congress and the left parties will be responsible," Gautam told a press conference here.
He also said BJP workers, general public and farmers were attacked during the Friday event at Bathinda to celebrate Vajpayee's birthday, leaving several party workers injured.
They were listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address, when the "Punjab government, with the help of the local police, attacked them with iron road batons. Due to this, many suffered serious injuries," he said.
He said the state police acted as a "Congress police".
"Nobody was stopped, the tent at the event venue was uprooted and people gathered there were told to get out through the rear gate," Gautam alleged.
The Punjab Police had Friday said that a group of farmers ransacked the venue of the event organised by the BJP.
However, some farmers at the venue claimed "antisocial elements" and not peasants were behind the incident.
Some people were listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the venue on Amrik Singh Road when a group of farmers reached there shouting slogans and ransacked the place. They broke chairs and the LED system, police had said.