Panaji (Goa) [India], April 16 : Goa Congress president Amit Patkar, General Secretary Captain Viriato Fernandes, and other party leaders were detained while on their way to protest at the venue of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's public meeting in south Goa on Sunday evening, a police official said.
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, said an official. As per the police, the detention came as a preventive measure and all the detainees were taken to Old Goa Police Station.
"Congress leaders were on their way to Shah's rally. We wanted to seek clarification from Shah about his statement on the diversion of Mhadei river water by Karnataka," he said. Patkar claimed Shah had told a public meeting in Karnataka that the water of the Mhadei river would be diverted for which the Goa government has given its consent.
"Shah may be a BJP leader but he is the country's Home Minister. We have a right to question him during the public meeting," he said.
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