Pandemonium at Piyush Goyal Lucknow event, minister hounded out by angry railway workers
There was pandemonium at the event, despite a heavy deployment of the Uttar Pradesh Police and Railway Protection Force.
In Short
- Employees were angered by his comment against a railway union leader
- Protesters raised slogans and created ruckus at the venue
- Police had a tough time to escort him out safely
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had a tough day in Lucknow on Friday after a large number of angry railway employees raised slogans against him and forced him to leave from an event where he was addressing railway workers.
There was pandemonium at the event, despite a heavy deployment of the Uttar Pradesh Police and Railway Protection Force. The crowd went on a rampage and raised slogans such as 'Piyush Goyal murdabad' (down with Piyush Goyal).
Some local journalists have tweeted videos of the protest. However, IndiaToday.in could not independently verify their authenticity.
Breaking: Slogans raised against railway minister @PiyushGoyal in Lucknow when he was attending an event.These slogans raised by railway employees who have some demands which r not fullfillef yet. @RohitMishraNBT @rohini_sgh @NehaLTOI @HrishabhTiwari3 pic.twitter.com/0NAsCw1Mou Prashant Srivastava (@Prashantps100) November 16, 2018
The chaos started when Goyal was speaking from the stage. The protestors were reportedly angry about an issue related to recruitment in the Railways.
They were reportedly angry over Goyal's comment where he blamed Shiv Gopal Mishra, the general secretary of All India Railway Mens' Federation (AIRF), for instigating youth who had completed apprenticeship in the Railways. AIRF is one of the biggest unions of railway workers in the country.
Piyush Goyal was escorted out by security personnel following the sloganeering and alleged attack on him allegedly by railway employee union members. pic.twitter.com/uOJWwmMamr Qazi Faraz Ahmad (@qazifarazahmad) November 16, 2018
After great difficulty, security forces were able to escort Goyal to his car and get him out of the venue in Lucknow's Charbagh area.
The protesting employees however did not let that deter them and even jumped in front of the fleet of vehicles accompanying the Union minister.
The exact reason of the protest is not clear yet.
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