Protesting Youth Congress activists lathi-charged in Chandigarh
The protesters were led by national Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chhib, Congress state president HS Lucky, vice-president Gurpreet Singh, state general secretary Love Kumar and a large number of Congress workers from across the city
Members of the Chandigarh Youth Congress, led by president Deepak Lubana, staged a protest against unemployment and drug abuse on Sunday.
As they marched from Congress Bhawan in Sector 35 towards the BJP office in Sector 34, the police intervened, using lathi-charge and water cannons to disperse them. Police barricaded the area, preventing the protesters from advancing. Amid the melee, four protesters sustained minor injuries and were taken to GMSH, Sector 16, for treatment.
The protesters were led by national Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chhib, Congress state president HS Lucky, vice-president Gurpreet Singh, state general secretary Love Kumar and a large number of Congress workers from across the city.
Addressing the gathering, Lubana said while Congress worked towards nation-building, the BJP was solely focused on self-interest. He warned that if strict action was not taken against drug abuse soon, a larger movement would be launched.
Chhib criticised the Modi government for its handling of deported Indian youth. Referring to the recent incident where Indian youngsters were handcuffed and shackled upon their arrival in Punjab after being deported, he blamed the BJP government for failing to address unemployment, which forced youth to seek jobs abroad.
Lucky accused the BJP of deceiving the poor for the past decade. He alleged that in a bid to secure votes, the BJP made false promises of granting ownership rights to residents of rehabilitation colonies.