Gurgaon: Several Congress workers were detained after they staged a protest outside BJP’s district office, Gurukamal, in Sector 31 on Tuesday.The Congress functionaries, including district unit presidents Vardhan Yadav and Pankaj Dawar, were demanding an independent probe into theft of donations collected at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. All of them were released at a distance from the protest site. There were no reports of violence or damage to property.The district administration had clamped prohibitory orders within a 300-metre radius of the BJP office after Congress announced the protest.Police stopped Congress workers from holding a mass Sundarkand Path outside the premises and detained several protesters as they raised slogans against the BJP-led govts at the Centre and in Haryana. Congress functionaries said the demonstration was intended to demand “transparency” in the management of donations received for the Ram Temple and sought a public disclosure of accounts.Yadav alleged that BJP was trying to suppress questions being raised over the temple donations by preventing a peaceful protest. “Lord Ram is the centre of faith for the entire country and not the property of any political party. The accounts of every donation received for the construction of the Ram Temple should be made public and irregularities should be investigated impartially,” Yadav said.Congress functionaries also criticised the detention of party workers, alleging that the administration had misused the police to stifle democratic dissent. They questioned the deployment of a large police force and said the party was prevented from carrying out what they described as a peaceful religious recital. Police, however, maintained that security arrangements were made to ensure law and order and to prevent any breach of peace during the demonstration. The detained Congress workers were later taken away from the protest site.The restrictions will remain in force till further notice. The order — under Section 163 of BNSS, issued by deputy commissioner Uttam Singh — bans the assembly of five or more persons around the BJP office.
