RAIPUR:
Chhattisgarh
BJP leaders heading for curfew-locked
Kawardha
were stopped by police on Wednesday and Thursday, and told that they couldn’t visit the town as restrictions under CrPC 144 were in place. The
BJP delegation staged a demonstration and returned to Raipur.
This comes just two days after Chhattisgarh
CM Baghel
was denied permission by UP government to leave Lucknow airport to visit Lakhimpur Kheri where eight persons were killed during a farmers’ protest. Kawardha is under heavy security with over 1,500 policemen deployed — one cop for every 30 people in this small town. There’s an eerie silence in the streets, locals said.
Kawardha, around 120km from Raipur, has been tense since Sunday following a dispute over hoisting of a flag. Violence broke out on Tuesday evening, leading to imposition of
curfew and snapping of internet in Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon and Bemetara districts. Around 70 people have been arrested.
On Wednesday, BJP said it would send a delegation of MLAs to Kawardha. Leader of opposition Dharamlal Kaushik and Brijmohan Agrawal led a team but were stopped by police near the Kawardha circuit house. Police said they couldn’t let them into town as curfew was in place. The BJP leaders sat on dharna and raised slogans . On Thursday, too, they couldn’t go to Kawardha and had to return to the state capital. BJP demanded action against the SP and collector, holding them responsible for the situation. “Internet services continue to be shut and nobody knows what’s happening in Kawardha. Why compare it with the UP issue, when the whole nation knows details of the events there?” said Kaushik.
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