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When protesters descended on MG Marg

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR: It was a virtual riot of colour when people from different walks of lives descended on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg outside the Assembly with multicoloured banners and flags to highlight their demands on Thursday.

Since the past few days, aggrieved organisations intensified their agitation as the Budget session was coming to an end next week.

First came the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), which had mobilised more than 3,000 of its supporters. They came with red colour flags in their hands and a truck, which was covered with red colour clothes, was converted into a stage.

Next, it was the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), inclined to Communist ideology, which occupied a major space on the 500-metre-long road. The protesters, comprising students, demanded withdrawal of the proposal to introduce sex education at the school level. They were of the view that the government should concentrate more on filling vacant posts rather than imparting sex education.

However, a contingent of sadhus drew attention. Under the banner of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the sadhus, who reside in mutts in 12 districts, came to participate in the demonstration against cow slaughter and religious conversions in the State.

With long hair, beard and simple white, orange or saffron robes and ‘vibhuti’ marks on their forehead, they sat in a group to support the issue. A few of them were seen talking on their mobile phones. Even cows were brought to the venue.

The police had a tough time managing the divergent groups with different ideologies. Special police units were deployed around sadhus to ensure that no untoward incident took place.

In a corner, activists of the Ekta Parishad, though in small number, were quietly dwelling on the issues of distribution of wasteland among tribals and landless. People from different panchayats of the State had been continuing the 231-day ‘Satyagraha’ on a platform, which was decorated in green clothes. The Mahatma Gandhi Marg also accommodated several teachers’ associations, which had come to seek a better deal from the administration. Though their voices were lost in the cacophony, some of the teachers were seen clearing the crowd in front of their makeshift platform.

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