Lathi charge

The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana for resorting to lathi charge against On Tuesday, protesting farmers blocked a highway at Haryana’s Kurukshetra for over six hours. The blockade also affected vehicular movement on the Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar routes and police used water cannons and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the agitators. The protesters claimed they were forced to sell their produce to private buyers at around ₹4,000 per quintal as against the MSP of ₹6,400 per quintal. Attacking the BJP, the Opposition party said the ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ slogan given by former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had now been transformed into ‘mare kisan, pite kisan, jai dhanwan’ (farmers die and are beaten up but the rich are hailed). ‘Black agricultural laws’ Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the BJP’s “anti-farmer attitude” was coming to the fore again and again. Sometimes farmers were attacked by bringing Land Acquisition Ordinance and “black agricultural laws” and sometimes they were assaulted directly, as happened in Kurukshetra, he said on Twitter. “We strongly condemn the lathi charge on the farmers who were protesting peacefully. The government should fulfil their demand for MSP and not try to brutally suppress their voice,” tweeted Mr. Ramesh. ‘Betrayal of farmers’ Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, Rajya Sabha member Dee...

| Updated: 12-06-2023 07:40 IST | Created: 12-06-2023 07:40 IST Representative Image. Image Credit: ANI • Country: • India • SHARE • • • • After the reports of alleged tension between the police and pilgrims during an annual palanquin departure ceremony in Alandi town of Maharashtra's Pune on Sunday, the Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner denied reports of lathi charge on Warkaris - devotees of Lord Vitthal, and said that there was only a "minor altercation". The incident took place when devotees tried to gain entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's temple in Alandi, during a ceremonial procession. The annual procession began on Sunday morning from Alandi with devotees from various parts of the state and beyond joining in large numbers. Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey said in a statement, "There was no lathi charge during the procession of the Palkhi only a minor altercation took place today at Alandi." He said that there was overcrowding during the last year's procession, and in view of the same, they had decided to limit the number of visitors this time. "Last year, several injuries were caused due to the overcrowding during the annual Pilgrimage. Therefore, this year the Principal District Judge, Charity Commissioner and the heads of various temples decided to limit the number to 75 people to allow them to enter each Palkhi. The decision was also communicated to the various chiefs of the groups who take part in the Palkhi," he said. The Commissi...

By Amit Bhardwaj, Sreya Chatterjee, Ram Kinkar Singh: The Haryana Police lathi-charged protesting farmers at Karnal’s Gharaunda toll plaza on Saturday. Following this, farmers' body Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) issued a call to farmers to block all highways and toll plazas across Haryana. A mahapanchayat will be held in Nuh district on Sunday. On the incident, Darshan Pal of SKM stated, "Despite a peaceful protest, the farmers were brutally attacked and lathi-charged. Hundreds of farmers have been detained by the police." In a video on Facebook, he demanded their release. Bharatiya Kisan Union's Haryana chief Gurnam Singh Chadhuni appealed to farmers, "Continue blocking roads till all those who were detained are released by Haryana Police." Earlier in the day, SKM had instructed the protesters to block highways in Haryana till 5 pm on Saturday. WHY WERE THE FARMERS PROTESTING? Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was scheduled to attend a BJP meeting in Karnal, his own constituency, on Saturday. Besides Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar and other senior leaders of the party were present at the meeting. The farmers had gathered at Bastara toll plaza near Karnal to protest against the chief minister's visit for the meeting when they were lathi-charged. At least ten farmers suffered injuries following the incident. Farmers protesting against the farm laws have been opposing public functions of the BJP-JJP government in Haryana. According to Hary...

WATCH: Clash Breaks Out Between Warkaris And Cops During Palkhi Ceremony At Alandi Temple WATCH: Clash Breaks Out Between Warkaris And Cops During Palkhi Ceremony At Alandi Temple A clash erupted between a group of pilgrims and the police outside the Alandi temple, leading to a lathi charge by the authorities. Pune: An argument broke out on Sunday between warkaris-devotees of Lord Vitthal- and police during a procession in Maharashtra's Pune district but there was no lathicharge, a senior officer said. Opposition parties, however, claimed police lathicharged warkaris and demanded a high-level probe and strict action. The incident occurred when devotees were scrambling to gain entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi town, 22 km from Pune city, during the ceremonial procession which is part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Police had made elaborate arrangements and held meetings with temple trustees to prevent any untoward incident, said Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad, Vinay Kumar Choubey. While the police were sending batches of 75 devotees at a time, a few people breached the barricades and tried to enter the temple, he said. "There was an altercation when police tried to stop them," Choubey said but refuted allegations that police lathi-charged warkaris. श्री क्षेत्र आळंदी येथे वारकरी बांधवांवर पोलिसांनी लाठीमार केल्याचा प्रकार अत्यंत संतापजनक आहे. वारकरी संप्रदायाचा पाया रचणारे थोर संत ज्ञानेश्वर महाराज यांच्या आळंदीत वारकरी...

IMAGE: A scuffle breaks out between warkaris and the police in Pune's Alandi town in Maharashtra. Photograph: Video grab Opposition parties, however, claimed police lathicharged warkaris and demanded a high-level probe and strict action. Citing the "atmosphere of tension and violence prevailing in the state", the Nationalist Congress Party demanded the resignation of Maharashtra home minister Devendra Fadnavis if he cannot handle the law and order. The incident occurred when devotees were scrambling to gain entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi town, 22 km from Pune city, during the ceremonial procession which is part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Police had made elaborate arrangements and held meetings with temple trustees to prevent any untoward incident, said Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad, Vinay Kumar Choubey. While the police were sending batches of 75 devotees at a time, a few people breached the barricades and tried to enter the temple, he said. "There was an altercation when police tried to stop them," Choubey said but refuted allegations that police lathi-charged warkaris. The issue took a political turn with opposition NCP and Congress claiming that police lathicharged warkaris. “I condemn the (state) government for the incident of lathi-charge on warkaris. This has never happened in so many years. The pilgrimage (to Pandharpur) has been a tradition for the past few centuries. “The administration's mismanagement...

"What has never happened before has happened this year. Warikari has hundreds of years of tradition. There had never been an incident of force being used on the workers before this. Through his simple and easy teachings, Varakaris have shown direction to the country from time to time. Mauli's Dindi ceremony was marred by mismanagement by the administration. The lathi attack on the pilgrims who came for the Dindi festival is a very infuriating form. There is a need to investigate the guilty persons and take immediate action against them," Sule tweeted in Marathi. "The incident of police lathicharge on Varkari brothers during the departure ceremony of Santshrestha Dnyaneshwar Mauli's palanquin from Alandi is painful. This has not happened before in the history of Pandharpur Wari, which is the glory of saints and devotional tradition of Maharashtra," Pawar Said. "Today's incident is heartbreaking. This incident can be avoided by proper planning of the ceremony. It would have come, but it did not happen. I strongly condemn the police lathi-charge on the workers and the government which lathi-charged them," Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar has expressed his reaction," the NCP leader further added.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra has denied allegations by the opposition that Pune police had lathi-charged the Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) while adding that a ‘minor fight’ had broken out. Opposition parties had alleged that there was a lathicharge on the devotees and demanded strict action. Fadnavis added that around 400-500 youths decided to not follow the restricted entry system and insisted on participating in the pilgrimage and broke the barricades. The Home Minister added that police tried to stop the devotees which led to some police personnel getting injured in the process. Fadnavis also urged the opposition parties to not indulge on politics on this issue, he said, “I also appeal to some political parties not to indulge in politics. The safety and security of the warkari community and of the people are important. Police have been instructed to find some solution," Opposition parties including the Congress and the NCP had called for the resignation of Fadnavis and the setting up of a high-level inquiry into the matter. Responding to the criticism from the opposition parties, Fadnavis said, “We were not in the government last year when a stampede had taken place. We did not indulge in politics, but learned from that incident and tried to make things better. I pity the politicians who try to politicise the issue." (With inputs from PTI)

Cops resort to ‘lathi charge’ to control Warkaris at Alandi Some young Warkaris were allegedly lathi-charged by police personnel while they tried to enter the temple; social media decries action, says hundreds of years old tradition tarnished; Pimpri Chinchwad police commissioner refutes allegations PHOTOS: RAHUL DESHMUKH In a first in the 800-year history of the Wari tradition, police allegedly resorted to a lathi charge on Warkaris as they tried to enter the temple in Alandi. The unwanted police action has been criticised after a video of the incident went viral on social media. However, the police have refuted the allegations saying there was no lathi charge as has been said. Team Mirror, which was present on the scene, witnessed a few clashes between a group of young Warkaris and the police personnel. However, the situation was brought under control immediately. Lakhs of devotees of Lord Vitthal have reached Alandi and Dehu on the occasion of Ashadhi Wari on Sunday, singing paeans to Gyanba-Tukaram to the rhythm of taal-mridanga. The incident is said to have taken place due to the confusion caused by the imposition of the number limit of Dindis (troops) for entry into the Sant Dnyaneshwar temple in Alandi. The temple administration had announced that only 75 Warkaris and 50 Alandikars who would take part in the Palkhi would be allowed to enter the temple to avoid crowding and a stampede in the main temple during the Palkhi departure. However, a large number of Warkaris...