Top Congress leaders including former party chief Rahul Gandhi and several party MPs were detained by police on Tuesday after they staged a protest against party chief Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
It was the second day of the Congress president’s questioning by the ED in an alleged money-laundering case pertaining to the National Herald-Associated Journals Limited case. She was earlier questioned by the agency on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi and the other MPs had assembled in Parliament and marched towards Vijay Chowk on their way to Rashtrapati Bhavan to draw President’s attention to alleged misuse of central agencies by Government, but were stopped by the police. “India is a police state, Modi is a king,” Rahul Gandhi said while he was being pulled by the police into a bus. Rahul Gandhi was also questioned by the ED in the same case last month in several rounds totaling 50 hours over five days. The Congress leaders were later taken to the Kingsway Camp police station, where they used the time of their detention to brainstorm on the party’s strategy in Parliament after Opposition MPs were suspended from the House. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that he, along with other Congress MPs, was manhandled by police, adding that this was being done at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “This is a conspiracy by the Modi-Shah duo,” Kharge said as he was being taken away by the police. On the occasion Rahul Gandhi said that discussions are not being allowed in Parliament. “I am not going anywhere. We wanted to go towards the President’s house but the police are not allowing us,” the former Congress chief said as police stopped him from marching towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan. “Look at the dictatorship. We cannot hold peaceful demonstrations, cannot discuss inflation and unemployment. By misusing the police and agencies, even by arresting us, you will never be able to silence us. Only ‘Truth’ will end this dictatorship,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter while sharing pictures of his protest. In another tweet in Hindi, Rahul Gandhi said, “The country’s ‘King’ has ordered —whosoever asks questions on unemployment, inflation, wrong GST, Agneepath — put them in jail. Even though I am in custody now, even though it may be considered a crime to raise voice of people in country now, they will never be able to break our spirits.” Party MP Manickam Tagore claimed Delhi Police harassed almost all the 75 party MPs under detention. “We were holding a peaceful protest to give a petition to President, but were attacked by police. All MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, have been arrested and taken to police stations,” Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The dictatorship of BJP is now out in open as neither can important issues be discussed in Parliament nor can people’s voice be raised on streets.” “This is a fight for truth, we will neither bow down nor be afraid. We will fight and win,” she said.