Panaji: A group of Congress leader including Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar were detained by police, on their way to protest at the venue of Union Amit Shah’s public meeting in South Goa.
The Congress workers were detained at Banastarim bridge, almost 10 kms away from Farmagudi ground near Ponda town, where Shah is scheduled to address BJP’s public meeting later in the evening.
Patkar said that the Congress leaders were on their way to Shah’s rally. “We wanted to seek clarification from Shah about his statement on diversion of Mhadei river by Karnataka,” he said.
Patkar said that Shah had claimed during a public meeting in Karnataka that the water of Mhadei would be diverted for which Goa government has given their consent.
“Shah may be a BJP leader but he is Home Minister of the country. We have a right to question him during the public meeting,” he said.
A senior police official said that the Congress leaders were detained as a preventive measure.