We feared being attacked: Kangana recounts tense moments during Parliament protest

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut said MPs feared being attacked during the CJP-led 'Chalo Sansad' protest as Parliament gates were shut amid escalating tensions. She praised Delhi Police for protecting lawmakers and the public despite injuries suffered during clashes

New Delhi: The gates to Parliament were closed, the MPs were inside and many feared they would be attacked by the “mob”, BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut said on Tuesday while recounting moments of tension from the CJP protests the earlier day.

The MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh also praised Delhi Police, describing the security personnel as a “shield for the people”. “They (police) took the stones and injuries upon themselves and ensured that no harm came to the public,” Ranaut told reporters a day after thousands of people stormed central Delhi responding to a ‘Chalo Sansad’ call from the Cockroach Janta Party .

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According to Delhi Police, around 60 protesters were injured in the police action on Monday. More than 118 police personnel, including several senior officers, were also injured in the clashes.

Ranaut and many other MPs were inside when main gates to Parliament premises were closed and entry and exit stopped as the crowds outside swelled.

Protesters, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accountability for irregularities in the exam system, attempted to march to the complex but were pushed back with teargas and batons. The lawmakers were anxious and the situation tense, Ranaut said after a meeting of NDA MPs addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The gates were closed, all the parliamentarians were confined inside, and none of us could move. You saw how the mob tried to attack us. At one point, many of us were frightened that we might be attacked,” she said. Ranaut was responding to questions on the protest by members by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) near Parliament on Monday.