Youth Congress workers on Saturday blocked the Delhi-Jaipur Highway here and burnt tyres in protest against the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha. The party workers led by Haryana Youth Congress chief Divyanshu Budhiraja reached near Kherki Daula toll plaza at around 12:30 pm and raised slogans against the BJP government.
“The Centre has cancelled the membership of Rahul Gandhi to suppress the voice of the Opposition. We will protest on the streets against the dictatorial decision of the BJP government which is scared of the support received by Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'," Budhiraja said.
The Gurugram police reached the protest site and detained one of the protesters. "Vikas Parmar alias Lala, a resident of Rohtak, was detained. He was released later," a police officer said.
Following the complaint of ASI Yogender Kumar, an FIR was registered against about 20 protesters under sections 147 (riots), 283 (obstruction in a public way), and 341 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC at the Kherki Daula police station, he said.
“A case was registered on Saturday against those who blocked the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. One of them was arrested while action will be taken against others," Inspector Rajender Kumar, SHO, Kherki Daula police station said.
Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction.
Meanwhile, former BJP MP Sudha Yadav accused the Gandhi scion of making unwarranted comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions on both national and international platforms.
“The conduct of Rahul Gandhi in this case simply shows his arrogance. He has made unwarranted remarks against the prime minister in national and global fora," she said at a press conference here.
Countering the charges, Congress leader Captain Ajay Yadav claimed it was the pre-plan of the saffron party and that the Union dispensation "cannot face the truth" as shown by Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi must be punished for 'I am not Savarkar' remarks
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday hit back at ex-MP Rahul Gandhi over his 'I am not Savarkar' remarks and demanded that the Congress leader should be punished. The former Congress chief made the remarks while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha. "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday responding to a query on repeated calls by the BJP seeking his apology over various issues.
"VD Savarkar is not only Maharashtra's deity but is an idol for the whole country and Rahul Gandhi has defamed him. Any criticism of Rahul Gandhi will be lesser for his this deed. Today also, he said that I am not Savarkar who will apologise. What does he think of Savarkar? He must be punished for this," Shinde said in the Assembly.
"Gandhi's family should be treated differently by law"
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari defended Gandhi and demanded a "special law" for him. While backing Rahul, the Congress leader said that his family had a history of sacrifice for the country and hence the government should bring special laws in terms of sentencing the Gandhian family.
While speaking to media persons on Saturday, the Congress leader from Mirzapur asserted that the court should have granted minimum punishment to Rahul amid the fact his ancestor had sacrificed their lives for the nation. Further, he alleged that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was scared of the "theft". Notably, he was pointing fingers at the recent data published by Hindenburg Research against the billionaire Gautam Adani.
'I am Gandhi not Savarkar'
A reporter asked him why does he not apologise for his speech at a UK University as demanded by BJP, he said, "My name is not Savarkar, it is Gandhi and Gandhi never apologises." He further said, "Let me speak in the Parliament. I asked to speak in the Parliament, twice I asked wrote to the speaker while a third time I presented myself physically." "I asked the Speaker to let me speak but he said it is not in my hands, then who has the power if not him?", Gandhi said. He further said, "Shall I ask Modiji but he will not allow me to speak."
"So, my point is that, democracy is finished in this country, people cannot speak what is on their minds, institutions in this country are being attacked and the mechanism of that attack is the relationship between Narendra Modi and Adani," the Congress leader said. In his remarks at the presser, Gandhi said he will keep asking questions on the Adani issue.
(With inputs from agency)
