Lucknow: Congress workers from across Uttar Pradesh clashed with police and climbed barricades while attempting to lay siege to the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow on Tuesday under the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ campaign.
The protesters alleged that the administration, acting on government directions, tried to stop the programme using force and preventive detentions.
According to Congress leaders, police issued legal notices to party workers over the past two days and detained several at their homes to prevent them from reaching the state capital. Despite restrictions and barricades, thousands of workers managed to reach Lucknow on the call of Uttar Pradesh in charge Avinash Pandey and state Congress president Ajay Rai to stage the Assembly gherao.
Large contingents of police were deployed and roads around the Congress office were sealed with barricades, turning the area into a high security zone. As Congress workers marched towards the Vidhan Sabha, they clashed with police at multiple points and climbed over barricades to push ahead with the protest.
The protest was held against what the party termed anti people policies of the state government, alleged attempts to weaken the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, delays in wage payments to workers and the adverse impact on rural livelihoods.