The Congress on Tuesday continued its demonstrations against the Agnipath recruitment scheme and Rahul Gandhi’s interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate despite Delhi police preventing leaders and workers from stepping out of the party headquarters.
The party leadership has asked all the state units to send MLAs and office-bearers to Delhi, prepared for a protracted battle. A large number of party workers have already arrived from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and some other states.
A huge crowd had gathered at the party headquarters early on Tuesday morning, looking to join a march to be led by general secretary K.C. Venugopal, but the police crackdown foiled the plan.
“Rapid Action Force is not sent to places on time where they organise riots,” Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
“But the blue-coloured Rapid Action Force is standing outside the Congress headquarters since morning. This is called Amit-Shahi,” he added, taking a swipe at Union home minister Amit Shah.
To the Congress leadership, the ED’s decision to interrogate Rahul Gandhi for so many days is bewildering and indicative of political vindictiveness. The party is therefore determined to provide a political response.
Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday told a news conference that Rahul’s questioning, in a money-laundering case, was an attempt by the Narendra Modi government to distract the people from its “all-round failures”.
“Distraction is a time-tested technique of the Modi government… and targeting Rahul Gandhi is the best form of distraction,” he said.
Police detain Congress workers in New Delhi. PTI picture
“Five days, 55 hours of grilling. To keep cameras focused at the charade at the ED office, to make sure that the issues that deserve attention remain camouflaged.
“Rahul has been a consistent, unwavering voice against the BJP’s failures. Therefore his harassment is an act of utter revenge, retribution. There is nothing constitutional or legal about this process. Everything is personal.”
Singhvi, a top lawyer, added: “I have some experience of law. I have never seen investigation agencies, in a case like this, calling somebody for five days, questioning for 10-11 hours (every day).
“How many questions can the ED ask? What is this Himalayan bundle of unending questions about a Section 25 (not-for-profit) company? The law says a shareholder of a company doesn’t own the assets of the company. Did Rahul get any benefit? Not possible, even if anybody wants.
“There is no FIR…. There is no transfer of assets. Where is the money laundering? It is mala fide; it reveals the absence of rudimentary evidence. Rahul is facing a personal vendetta.”
Rahul has remained unperturbed, persisting with his attacks on the Prime Minister.
On Tuesday, he tweeted: “Mr Prime Minister, the people are suffering because of the reforms you introduced ‘to keep up with the times’. The demonetisation, flawed GST, CAA, record inflation, record unemployment, black farm laws and now the Agnipath attack. Good for the BJP means harmful for the nation.”
Around 60 MPs and senior leaders were at the party office in the morning along with heads of frontal organisations and party workers. The police took away most of them in buses as they stepped out of the office, shouting slogans.
MPs Ranjeet Ranjan, Amee Yagnik, Santokh Singh, K. Suresh, Chella Kumar, Kuldeep Rai Sharma and Mohd Zawed, along with ex-MP Kamal Kishore Commando, were taken to Rajendra Nagar police station and detained for the day.
Other MPs such as Benny Benhanan, Anto Anthony, Deepak Baij, Saptagiri Ulaka and Gourav Gogoi, former minister Bhakta Charan Das and Chhattisgarh minister Amarjeet Bhagat were detained at Narela police station.
Venugopal, his Rajya Sabha colleague and Youth Congress chief B.V. Srinivas, and some party workers too were taken away by the police. But Venugopal was released soon afterwards.
Youth Congress leaders alleged that several activists had been injured in police brutality. They hoped the agitation would intensify in the coming days.
