Police uses water cannons to disperse BJP workers at Jan Raksha Yatra in Delhi; CPM takes out counter march

The Delhi Police used water cannons on Monday to disperse crowds at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in New Delhi, according to media reports. BJP supporters were carrying out the Jan Rakhsa Yatra outside the CPM office in the national capital.

Delhi: Water cannons used on protesters during BJP's Jan Rakhsa Yatra outside CPI(M) office pic.twitter.com/GqLyC1ql0a

— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2017

After Amit Shah on Sunday , Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and General VK Singh led the rally for BJP on Monday, protesting against the alleged killings of BJP and RSS workers in Kerala.

BJP's Jana Raksha Yatra in Delhi over killings of BJP & RSS workers in Kerala; Union Ministers VK Singh & Kiren Rijiju also take part (ANI) pic.twitter.com/88Us4WYYYn

— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 9, 2017

BJP Mantris hit the streets. Watch LIVE report from New Delhi #ProtestPolitics pic.twitter.com/n1Ph7WBexU

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) October 9, 2017

On Sunday, addressing the Delhi leg of the Jana Raksha Yatra, Shah asserted that no amount of intimidation can “stop the lotus from blooming” in Kerala.

“Politics of violence is in their nature. It is not a coincidence that the maximum political violence is reported from West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala where the Communists have been in power for long. Wherever they have been in power, they have turned the political culture into that of violence,” Shah said.

“The Reds think they will be able to stop thoughts and ideas from spreading through violence. I want to tell the CPM and Congress that communists have disappeared from the world and Congress from India. And BJP, which was launched with 10 persons, is today the world’s largest party with 11 crore workers,” he said at the gathering on Sunday.

Rijiju and Singh reiterated Shah’s comments on Monday.

Shah had begun the Jana Raksha Yatra from Kerala’s Kannur district on 3 October. It will conclude on 17 October at Thiruvananthapuram.

Meanwhile, the CPM took out a counter protest on the streets of the national capital on Monday, marching against “false allegations by the BJP in Kerala”.

Our protest is against BJP's Kerala Yatra, their false allegations on CPM&their week-long protest outside our office in Delhi: Prakash Karat pic.twitter.com/5xD3awS1Xg

— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2017

CPM leaders Prakash and Brinda Karat led the protests for the party. “They have been outside our office for a week, disrupting our daily functions. It is time we took out a counter march to expose BJP’s false allegations to malign the CPM in Kerala,” Prakash Karat said.

CPI-M holds protest against RSS and BJP in Delhi; CPI-M's Prakash Karat and Brinda Karat present pic.twitter.com/FhQg3qzNmK

— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2017