“Do not resort to extreme measures; express views through party forums”: Narottam Mishra after Datia protest

Dabra (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): BJP leader Narottam Mishra on Saturday appealed to party workers to maintain calm and refrain from any form of protest after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied him a ticket for the upcoming Datia Assembly bypoll.
Speaking to reporters, the BJP leader said the party's decision should be respected and urged workers not to resort to extreme measures such as pouring petrol or kerosene in protest. He said differences of opinion should be expressed through appropriate party forums and not in such a manner.
"This is the party's decision. I urge all party workers, especially after seeing videos on social media of workers pouring petrol or kerosene, not to engage in such actions. Within the party forum, views are expressed in an appropriate manner. They are not conveyed in this fashion," he said.
His appeal came after large-scale protests by his supporters turned violent in Datia, leaving eight police personnel injured and disrupting traffic across four districts after demonstrators blocked National Highway-44 for nearly 11 hours.
Datia District Magistrate Swapnil Wankhede said the blockade began on Friday evening and continued till around 5 am on Saturday, causing a traffic jam stretching 20-25 kilometres and affecting Datia, Jhansi, Shivpuri and Gwalior districts.
"The traffic jam persisted until 5 AM, lasting roughly eleven hours... Many buses and ambulances were stuck in the gridlock," Wankhede told ANI.
The District Magistrate said the administration spent the entire night trying to persuade protesters to withdraw the blockade peacefully. However, when negotiations failed, protesters allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, prompting police to use tear gas.
According to Wankhede, protesters later entered an office building and continued pelting stones at police personnel from inside.
He said eight police personnel suffered serious injuries, including the SDPO, Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional SP. Wankhede himself also sustained a head injury despite wearing a helmet. Several police vehicles and trucks were damaged during the violence.
He added that the administration refrained from using lathi-charge and instead relied on persuasion and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Datia Superintendent of Police Mayur Khandelwal said over 3,000 protesters attempted to disrupt normalcy in the city by blocking the highway and forcing markets to shut.
"Collector and I spoke to them again and again to leave from here and withdraw the 'chakka jaam'. Around 4 am, they suddenly pelted stones at the police. Police resorted to tear gas shells, following which the stone pelting intensified," he said.
The SP said more than six police personnel sustained serious injuries, while he and the Additional SP were also injured. He added that several protesters had been taken into custody and further legal action would follow.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Manjeet Singh Chawla said traffic was diverted through alternate routes, ambulances were allowed to pass, and efforts continued to restore normal movement.
The protests erupted after the BJP on Friday announced Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate for the Datia Assembly by-election, replacing Mishra, who had lost the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The Election Commission of India has announced that polling for the Datia Assembly bypoll will be held on July 30, while counting of votes will take place on August 3.
The Datia Assembly seat fell vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a fraud case. (ANI)