Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over police “atrocities” on innocents during protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying that the action was “illegal” and had no legal basis.
“I think it is happening for the first time that a chief minister has made a statement like ‘badla liya jayegaa (we will take revenge)’. And this is what is happening in the state,” Priyanka said while addressing media persons in Lucknow on Monday.
Elaborating further, the Congress general secretary said that innocent protesters were being targeted by the UP police and administration.
“When a chief minister warns of taking revenge from the people, then what do you expect from the state machinery. To follow the diktats of the chief minister, the administration will violate all norms by confiscating properties and harassing people,” she said.
“A saffron clad chief minister warning of revenge is very unfortunate. In Gita too, Lord Krishna has talked about ‘karuna’ (sympathy), not of revenge. Lord Ram too is a symbol of ‘karuna’ and in Shiva’s ‘baarat’, every community danced. Saffron is a symbol of country’s tradition and Hinduism promotes ‘karuna’, but the chief minister, by warning of revenge, had violated all traditions of the country. This country’s soul has no place for violence. Krishna and Rama preached kindness. The chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) wears saffron robe, he should follow Hindu religion,” she said.
Priyanka demanded that a sitting or retired judge of the High Court should probe every case of violence before the government and police moved ahead for prosecuting those arrested or confiscating their properties. She said that all legal process should be completed before confiscating property of persons accused in the violence.
“I went to meet a family in Bijnor. Their 21-year-old son, Suleman, who had come home on vacation, had gone to the local mosque for namaz. Suddenly, the news came that he had been hit by a police bullet,” Priyanka said. Suleman was killed during protests against the amended citizenship law on December 20 and his family claimed that he was shot by the police during protests. They later filed an FIR against six policemen on Sunday.
After initial denials, the police admitted that Suleman died from a police bullet and that he was among the rioters who opened fire on a cop from a country-made gun and he was shot in self-defence.
“There was another boy, a coffee machine operator. He told his father that he was going out to get some milk. His father warned him about trouble outside but he promised to return in five minutes. But minutes later, someone came running to his father saying the boy had been shot dead. And to add to the family’s woes, they were threatened of dire consequences if they thought about filing an FIR,” Priyanka said.
She also claimed that more than 5,000 people had been detained across the state and many others clandestinely held.
The Congress general secretary lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state for arresting people without inquiry. “The administration should hold an inquiry to determine who indulged in arson. It cannot take action arbitrarily,” she said.
Priyanka has been meeting families of those who either died or were arrested for protesting against the amended citizenship law. On Saturday, she had met the family of retired Indian Police Service officer SR Darapuri in Lucknow. Darapuri was arrested in connection with the recent anti-CAA stir in Lucknow.
