SHILLONG : The Meghalaya unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has condemned the police action against protesting students in Ranchi, accusing the Congress-JMM government in Jharkhand of using “brutal force” to suppress a peaceful student agitation.
In a statement, BJP Meghalaya state general secretary Wankitbok Pohshna said the incident had “shamed the democratic fabric of the nation.”
Pohshna alleged that students protesting over education and employment-related demands were confronted with barbed wires, tear gas, water cannons and lathi-charge during the crackdown.
“The entire country is watching how students are waging a peaceful, dignified struggle. Yet the Thug-bandhan government is committing merciless atrocities,” Pohshna said.
The Meghalaya BJP also claimed that some female students had alleged that their clothes were torn during the police chase. Pohshna described the allegation as a “heinous and barbaric act” and said no amount of condemnation would be sufficient if such incidents were found to have occurred.
The party said it stands with the youth of Jharkhand and urged the state government to immediately address the demands raised by the protesting students.
BJP Targets Rahul Gandhi
The BJP statement also targeted Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, alleging that the crackdown took place “at his behest” and accusing him of following a “politics of convenience.”
“Rahul Gandhi is quick to speak on Jantar Mantar but deaf to the screams of students in Jharkhand. He does not want the Home Minister to answer in Parliament because his web of lies will be shattered,” Pohshna said.
His remarks were in reference to Gandhi’s August 10 comments concerning alleged firing at Jantar Mantar.
The Meghalaya BJP urged Rahul Gandhi and the Congress to apologise to the country’s youth over what it described as a “hypocritical double standard.”