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Police deployment at Congress HQ triggers political furore
Police officials said a large deployment was made early in the evening, citing “inputs of Congress workers gathering in large numbers” at the headquarters in Central Delhi.
The Congress is under siege by the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition party’s leaders said on Wednesday, accusing its rival of trying to intimidate, insult and humiliate by surrounding its headquarters and the residences of its leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi with police personnel.
Police officials said a large deployment was made early in the evening, citing “inputs of Congress workers gathering in large numbers” at the headquarters in Central Delhi. The police also denied the party permission to hold a protest on August 5.
Congress leaders Ajay Maken, Abhishek Singhvi and Jairam Ramesh said the protests were planned “against inflation, unemployment and GST on food items” and not on any other issue, ostensibly referring to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sealing off of a part of the Herald House in connection with a case that recently involved the quizzing of the Gandhis.
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“India, the proud largest democracy of the world, now has a siege mentality. I was astonished to see that people cannot come and go. There are platoons everywhere, it is present on the other side of the road too. The only sole object of this exercise is humiliation, insult and intimidation at one level,” said Singhvi.
“Today we get a letter from DCP that you guys cannot carry out any demonstration. against inflation, unemployment and GST on food items on August 5th. Only these three issues were chosen by us. Only these three issues! I want to say again: inflation, unemployment and GST on food items,” said Maken.
“There is also an attempt to change the whole narrative that the Congress party is not protesting for these issues, but on some other issue and so the central government has to do something.”
Ramesh said the party would now cow down or be intimated. “The way our leaders and offices are guarded by the police show that this is politics of fear. This is not a democratic way. We will not run. We will definitely organise peaceful protests on August 5,” he said.
The party has planned an extensive protest on August 5 against price rise and GST on some food articles — issues that have also helped the Opposition disrupt the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament for 11 days. The protest plans included demonstrations in front of Prime Minister’s Residence at Lok Kalyan Marg and a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan, apart from protests at the state-level.
Singhvi, who announced the Opposition will ask for a review of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) amendments, said: “The entire country watches as investigative agencies are deployed mindlessly against the leadership of India’s oldest political party. I mean, you are treating this institution, this party, and these leaders as terrorists. It is the worst form of petty politics.”
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He added: “After 50 hours of questioning of Mr Rahul Gandhi, after days of questioning of the Congress president, more than 200 questions, the government has created a siege mentality, a climate of fear. The entire country watches as investigative agencies are deployed mindlessly against the leadership of India’s oldest political party.”
A Delhi police officer said he had received inputs of Congress workers gathering in large numbers outside the party office and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s house, which was why security personnel were posted in the evening. “The security personnel were posted in the evening after we received inputs about gathering of Congress workers. Section 144 is imposed in the New Delhi area, so any such form of gathering is prohibited. By around 7.30pm, there was no gathering, so the security personnel also retreated,” said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named.
“If Congress can knock the doors of the courts for terrorists at midnight, then why aren’t they trying to approach the courts now? Why only press conferences and dharnas?” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra in a tweet on Wednesday.
