Allahabad: Police on Monday used force to
disengage supporters of Congress who traded blows with
activists of Samajwadi Party`s youth wing staging a
demonstration against the visit of Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi here.
The activists of SP`s youth wing, who were protesting
Congress-led UPA government`s "failure" to restore students`
union in Allahabad University which was granted Central status
in 2005, shouted slogans asking Gandhi to "go back".
This drew angry response from a group of Congress
supporters who were standing across the road to welcome Gandhi
and soon the two sides came to blows, the police said adding
that "mild use of force was resorted to" for bringing the
situation under control.
Gandhi, party general secretary, is here to attend a
function organised by the party`s student wing NSUI in line
with his strategy to induct more young blood into Congress,
especially in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly polls are due next
year, by exhorting young men and women to take a more active
interest in political affairs.
The function is being held at the Motilal Nehru National
Institute of Technology (MNNIT), which is celebrating the 50th
year of its establishment and where Rahul is scheduled to
interact with a group of more than 500 students drawn from
MNNIT as well as other institutions of higher learning in the
city.
Barely half an hour before Gandhi`s arrival at the
airport, a group of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha gathered near the
MNNIT campus, where a team of the elite Special Protection
Group (SPG) had been camping since Saturday and entry of
general public has been restricted since this morning.
PTI
