NEW DELHI, March 16 � Hundreds of Congress workers today clashed with police during a protest against the BJP Government�s Land Acquisition Bill, saying it was anti-farmer, reports PTI.
Police resorted to lathi-charge and used water canons, leading to injuries to some, including Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Brar, when Congress workers tried to break barricades at Jantar Mantar to proceed towards Parliament.
Senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni and Ahmed Patel addressed the protesters who gathered at Jantar Mantar.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was not present in the protest, expressed her solidarity with the protesters in a message through Patel. �Soniaji has said that she is always with them and will continue to back and support the movement,� Patel said reading out Gandhi�s message.
Promising to block the Bill�s passage in the Rajya Sabha, Azad termed the ordinance an attempt to weaken the Food Security law passed by the UPA government.
�You continue protesting outside the Parliament, we will try not to let the Bill get passed when it is introduced in the Parliament,� the Leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha said.
�We are not talking about changing the shape of the Bill. We are not for any amendment of the Bill. We want this Bill to go lock, stock and barrel,� he said.
The rally was a culmination of Youth Congress� foot march agianst the Land Acquisition Bill launched on Friday from Bhatta-Parsaul village in Uttar Pradesh�s Greater Noida district, which reached Rajghat here last night.
