Protest Vs Protest in Delhi: Cong Rallies on Rahul's ED Questioning, BJP on 'Derogatory Remarks' for PM

The national capital remained replete with protests – this time from the BJP side too – amid the Enforcement Directorate questioning former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in an old corruption case. While Delhi Congress workers on held a protest in the Civil Lines area with a march to Lieutenant Governor’s house, led by state president Anil Kumar, the BJP too carried out its own protest near the ED office, against controversial remarks made by a Congress leader against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP workers gathered at the Man Singh Road near ED office, protesting against the controversial remarks for PM Modi made by Congress leader Sheikh Hussain.

Nagpur (west) BJP unit president Vinod Kanhare also lodged an FIR in the case. According to the complaint, Hussain had used derogatory language against the prime minister while addressing Congress workers during a protest held near the office of the ED on Monday to express solidarity with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was quizzed in Delhi in connection with a money laundering case.

Meanwhile, Congress workers carried out a march from Sushrut Trauma Centre near Chandgiram Akhara to the LG’s house decrying the Delhi Police for entering the Congress headquarters and thrashing the party leaders inside. The Congress workers alleged police tried stop them from marching to the LG’s house and resorted to water cannons to throw their protest in disarray.

On Wednesday, the Congress had alleged that the Delhi Police forcibly entered their national headquarters in New Delhi and thrashed their workers and leaders.

The Congress led protests in other states on the allegations too. “Yesterday, you saw Police enter Congress HQ. They lathi-charged, detained hundreds of people. Senior people, MLAs, MPs, and office bearers of the party were brutalised. A woman MP’s clothes were torn. Such action is uncalled for. Never before has Police has taken such action,” said Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot, ANI reported.

“Three days before we stated that we’ll do satyagraha, we wanted a peaceful march – that was denied. Today, they made sure that we’re not able to do any of our protests. In a democracy if you can’t speak out, if you can’t protest, how do you do your job as opposition?” he said.

A meeting of AICC General Secretaries, in-charges, MPs and senior leaders in Delhi was also held today at AICC headquarters to discuss plan of action against the ‘police atrocities’ in AICC yesterday, the brutal crackdown on Congress leaders and further course of actions, said party leader KC Venugopal in a tweet.

According to a report by ANI, a delegation of Congress MPs will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday to discuss the treatment of the party’s legislators by the Delhi Police as part of their protest against the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into party leader Rahul Gandhi. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha, will lead the delegation.

Congress workers protested in Chandigarh, and later detained. “We’ll continue protesting. We were going to Raj Bhavan. Congress party stands with Sonia-Rahul Gandhi. We won’t step back. We won’t be scared,” a party worker told ANI.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress workers raised slogans and protested in Bengaluru as well. A march has been organised from the party office to Raj Bhavan to give a memorandum and complaint letter against BJP.

“It (protest) is our right, we will fight for justice. They (ED) are not taking cases of any BJP leaders, they are harassing only Congress people,” Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said.

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