BJD members 'assault' BJP men near CM meet venue

Bhubaneswar: BJD supporters on Tuesday allegedly assaulted some BJP leaders for attempting to show black flags to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who was in Puri with several ministers and bureaucrats to review preparedness for the July 6 Rath Yatra.
Trouble mounted around 11.20 am when some BJP supporters, holding black flags, tried to reach Gopabandhu Ayurveda College where Naveen was chairing the meeting.Though the police stopped the BJP leaders from reaching the venue and seized the black flags, some BJD workers allegedly attacked the saffron party supporters in the presence of the men in uniform near Jhadeswari temple.
"We brought out a peaceful rally to protest against the recent attack by BJD workers on Union ministers Santosh Gangwar and Niranjan Jyoti in Bargarh recently. The police and ruling BJD used force to suppress our voice against the lawlessness in the state. Police allowed the BJD goons to attack us," BJP's Puri president Prabhanjan Mohapatra said.
Police denied the charges. "There were minor clashes between BJD and BJP workers. We dispersed the warring people. There was no attack on anyone," said a police officer. Apprehending backlash by BJP workers over the attack on Union ministers in Bargarh, policemen fortified Puri for Naveen's security. Several BJP leaders were taken into preventive custody on Monday night.
Opposition Congress also staged wildcat protest during Naveen's visit. Policemen prevented the protesters from going close to Naveen. Police detained several Congress workers, who protested the delay in completion of the probe into Bramha Paribartan (soul transfer of deities) fiasco in last year's Nabakalebara and recent arrest of former Nabarangapur MP Pradeep Majhi.
"At the instance of BJD, the police took our supporters into preventive custody on Monday night. We demand immediate completion of probe into Nabakalebara mismanagement and release of Pradeep Majhi, who was arrested for fighting for the cause of tribals," said Congress secretary Sujit Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, Naveen sought the cooperation of servitors of Jagannath Temple for smooth conduct of Rath Yatra. All the concerned departments have been asked to expedite works for Rath Yatra, Naveen told mediapersons.