The Delhi Police have registered two first information reports in connection with protests staged by the Congress partyofficials said on Saturday, a day after nearly 400 party workers and MPs were detained, including leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge and P Chidambaram, for roughly seven hours.
The Congress held nationwide protests — which it stressed were squarely on inflation and GST levies on items such as packaged food — on Friday, triggering a political war of words with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The police in the capital had denied permission for the protests.
While one FIR has been filed at Parliament Street police station under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the other has been filed at Tughlak Road police station under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188, 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Amrutha Guguloth said.
Also Read | Adhir Ranjan’s ‘Raavan’ jibe after Amit Shah linked Cong protests to Ram temple
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while party workers were named in the FIR, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, or any other party MPs were not named.
Reacting after the police action, party’s Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP. “In our country protesting is illegal, voicing our opinions is illegal. They (BJP govt) can do whatever they want,” he said.
Even as the police denied permission for the protests, the demonstration on Friday began in Parliament Complex where the MPs gathered in black clothes as a mark of protest.
The members attempted to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Minister’s residence, when they were stopped and detained.
Rahul Gandhi and party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi were among the detained Congress leaders who were removed from outside Parliament and the party’s headquarters and detained at Kingsway Camp police line office for nearly five hours.
In videos and photos shared on social media following the protests, senior leaders and party workers were seen scaling police barricades and clashing with the police personnel, even as the police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in New Delhi district.
Special commissioner Sagar Preet Hooda on Friday said that protests were held at various sites of New Delhi, including Akbar Road, Vijay Chowk and Jantar Mantar.
“The protestors were appropriately warned about the prohibitory orders in force in the area and repeatedly requested to disperse from the area. However, they continued the protest, thereby violating prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC. When the police personnel moved in to contain the situation, the protestors tried to obstruct the police officers from performing their duties, manhandled and injured them,” he said.
A total of 335 people including 65 MPs were detained under 65 Delhi Police Act at Kingsway Camp Police Lines and later released.
Those detained also included KC Venugopal, Shashi Tharoor, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh, and Shashi Tharoor.
Police prevented the party’s efforts to hold marches in Mumbai, Guwahati, and some other cities, detaining members and taking them away in buses and other vehicles.
Several BJP leaders called the protests an attempt to save the Gandhi family, referring to the investigation into the publisher of National Herald in which Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in the last two months, and Union home minister Amit Shah linked the black attire that the Congress workers wore as a mark of protest to what he said was the party’s opposition to the Ram temple.
Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath alleged that the protest in black clothes was part of the Congress’s “appeasement” politics to convey an opposition to the Ram temple foundation laying by Modi on August 5, 2020. Shah said the Congress was using the issues like ED action and price rise only as excuses — a position rejected by Congress leaders, who said it was the BJP’s “desperate attempt to divert, distract, polarise” the protests.
“Why did they wear black specifically on the 5th? Their motive was to appease the vote-banks. They’re looking for a way to evade the ED. They have the right to protest, but if they break a law, or manhandle the cops, action would follow,” BJP’s national spokesperson RP Singh said on Saturday, welcoming the police action.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jairam Thakur also expressed discontent over Congress members wearing black on August 5. “It was inappropriate for the Congress party members to dress in that attire on the same day that the foundation stone for the Ram Mandir was laid. It is the reason why the Congress party has disappeared from the country,” Thakur said.
Congress leaders denied the allegations.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said BJP has been worshipping ‘Raavan’ in the name of ‘Ram’. “In the name of ‘Ram’, this govt has been worshipping ‘Raavan’. People are afflicted under their rule. Congress exposed this govt as anti-people and pro-corporate,” he said.
“This is the worst form of vendetta politics. We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of the Modi government,” the party said in a tweet on Friday.
The issue of price rise rocked parliament for most of the previous week, prompting the government to agree to a debate in the House earlier this week. Opposition members accused the government of not doing enough, especially for the poor who, they said, were being disproportionately hit by inflation, which has remained at or around 7%.