Haryana Congress president, Rao Narender Singh on Monday demanded that the FIRs registered against Youth Congress and NSUI workers as well as the presidents of the Gurugram rural and urban district Congress committees be withdrawn or cancelled.
Leading a Congress protest in Gurugram on Monday, the state Congress chief demanded that harassment or intimidation of Congress workers and their families be stopped immediately. The protest was against the police action allegedly taken against Congress workers after their August 21 demonstration.
Rao Narender later said that a memorandum in this regard was also submitted to the Gurugram police commissioner, demanding immediate, impartial and transparent action in the matter.
“Independent medical examinations of youth workers, student leaders and district presidents who have complained of assault and harassment in police custody should be done. CCTV footage from the relevant locations should be preserved and legal and departmental action against guilty police personnel be taken,” Rao Narender told HT.
The state chief said that the right to peacefully protest and voice one’s views is a fundamental right in a democracy and misuse of the police machinery to suppress political dissent would not be tolerated at any cost.
“If the government and police administration failed to take immediate and impartial action on the demands, the agitation would not remain confined to Gurugram. Youth Congress workers and student leaders would hold democratic protests in every district of Haryana, he said.
{{/usCountry}}“If the government and police administration failed to take immediate and impartial action on the demands, the agitation would not remain confined to Gurugram. Youth Congress workers and student leaders would hold democratic protests in every district of Haryana, he said.
{{/usCountry}}“This is not a fight for any one individual or organisation, but a fight for democratic rights, justice and the rule of law,” Singh said.
He said that attempts to intimidate Congress workers, pressurise their families and portray peaceful political protest as a criminal act would be met with a democratic response across the state.
“Our youth workers, students and district presidents are not accused; they are the voice of democracy. Every attempt to silence that voice will be answered democratically across Haryana,” he said.
Former state Congress president Udai Bhan, Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed, Rohtak MLA BB Batra, Baroda MLA Induraj Narwal, former ministers Karan Dalal, Jagdish Yadav, Sukhbir Kataria and Jaswant Bawal, NSUI state president Avinash Yadav were among those present at the protest.