Supporters of India Against Corruption and Congress workers were involved in a scuffle Union Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Jyotiraditya Scindia’s press conference here on Tuesday.
Trouble broke out when IAC supporter Archana Sharma was pushed out of the conference hall, where the press conference was being held, by Congress workers while she was trying to ask a question to Mr. Scindia.
The Congressmen asked her whether she was a journalist and when she refused to divulge her identity they allegedly pushed her out of the hall branding her as an RSS agent.
While being pushed out, Ms. Sharma shouted ‘Bharat mata ki jai’. She repeated the slogan and hailed Anna Hazare after coming out of the hall.
Angered by this, IAC supporters raised slogans against the UPA government for arresting cartoonist Aseem Trivedi and also sought resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on coal blocks allotment.
Infuriated by the slogan shouting, Congress workers then tried to physically remove the protesters from the courtyard of the venue and in the process some anti-corruption protestors had their clothes torn.
Mr. Scindia, whose appeal to the Congress workers to allow Ms. Sharma to ask her question went in vain, later met the lady outside and heard her demands patiently.
She urged the minister to intervene in the release of the cartoonist, but the latter excused himself by saying that the matter was sub-judice.
Mr. Scindia also scolded Congress workers for misbehaving with IAC supporters.
