For the third successive day, Congress workers, protesting against the Centre over the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme, were detained by the Delhi police on Friday, this time sans party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Congress’ youth wing workers took out a march to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) but were stopped by the police.
The party workers had planned the march to the PMO from the Raisina Road office over the “non-implementation” of the OROP scheme, the debate over which resumed since Tuesday when a retired army personnel allegedly committed suicide.
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On Wednesday and Thursday, Mr. Gandhi had been detained during his bid to meet the veteran’s family and then while leading a protest march.
Police stopped the protesters, led by IYC president Amrinder Singh Raja Brar, soon after the march began. The workers resisted the crackdown and tried to climb over the barricades but the police responded with water cannons to disperse them.
Mr. Brar and others were detained and taken to the Parliament Street police station, said a police officer.
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Mr. Brar said the march was to highlight the plight of ex-soldiers who “are being fooled by the government of the day; the government has become totally irresponsible.”
‘Shameful behaviour’
“The soldiers are the pride of our nation and they are committing suicide because of the behaviour of the current government, which is shameful and totally unacceptable. Earlier the Modi government was against the farmers and now it has turned to be against the soldiers too. The Youth Congress stands with the ex-soldiers and will continue to fight for their right of OROP,” said Mr. Brar.