Afzal Aftermath: New city BJP chief leads protest to corner Sheila

After taking over the reins of the party in Delhi, Vijender Gupta hit the streets on Wednesday with hundreds of supporters and senior party leaders, claiming victory over Delhi government's hastily given nod to the execution of Afzal Guru.

It was Gupta's first public meeting as the new state chief and he claimed that his 48-hour ultimatum woke up the state government from its four-year-slumber.

The state BJP has been on the downslide ever since Madan Lal Khurana was shifted from the state to a gubernatorial post. This gave ample opportunity to the Congress to get a firm foothold, banking upon the fractured leadership of the saffron party.

But, Gupta left nothing to chance and started on an aggressive note cornering the government over the security issue which was also the party's main poll plank in the last general elections.

"The government has surrendered within four hours before the expiry of 48-hour ultimatum for returning the file related to Afzal Guru to Home ministry. The Congress should stop politics of the vote bank and appeasement. Today's demonstration was only an indication of the storm to come. The BJP will not remain idle until the families of the martyrs get justice," he told party workers at Jantar Mantar.

The demonstration was also attended by BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
Police in strength was deployed at the protest march and they had to use water cannons when they tried to break the cordon.