Hundreds of Indian protesters angry at a controversial allocation of coal fields were baton charged by police and sprayed with tear gas during a demonstration in the capital New Delhi Sunday. Police also fired water cannons to disperse the protesters as they tried to march towards the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Singh has been a target for the demonstrators following a recent report by the state auditor which said private companies had made "windfall gains" since 2004 after being given coal mining rights via a process that "lacked transparency".
The prime minister, whose reputation has been sullied by a string of scandals during his administration, was in charge of the coal ministry from 2004 to 2009 and has been personally implicated in the mismanagement.
The government has said its efforts to introduce open bidding for coal resources were held up by protests from some state governments, notably the ones run by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. "We wanted to tell the country how the Congress and the opposition are hand in glove in this coal scandal," Arvind Kejriwal, an aide of popular anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, told his supporters at the protest venue.
"We are ready to take blows from the police. We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of our country," added Kejriwal, whose movement goes under the name of "India Against Corruption".
Police said they resorted to force as the protesters were turning unruly and had broken down the barricades. "We could not have allowed the protestors to move forward. Rules prohibit any kind of protest in security sensitive areas like the residence of the prime minister," a police officer at the scene told AFP.
Kejriwal, who was detained briefly by police, claimed the protest had been successful and criticised the use of force on his supporters.
"We were only holding a peaceful protest. It seems the police were acting on the orders of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. The real face of this government has been exposed," he said. Hazare, who was not part of Sunday's protest, last month announced his support for Kejriwal and his party which is set to contest the general elections in 2014.