The Delhi Police on Thursday detained Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala and other party MPs while they were staging a sit-in protest outside the party headquarters, citing violation of prohibitory orders.

The Congress, in a bid to sharpen its attack on the Centre, staged a strong protest outside its office on Thursday, after they were prevented from marching towards Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Leaders, including Priyanka, had planned a protest march from the party office at Akbar Road to Rashtrapati Bhawan, where they were supposed to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and hand him over a memorandum signed by two crore farmers.

The Delhi Police, however, imposed Section 144 CrPC around the Rashtrapati Bhavan as well as the Congress office.

The protesting leaders were therefore detained and taken to Mandir Marg police station.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury later met Kovind and demanded the repeal of the three farm laws. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting against these laws for almost a month now, at different borders of Delhi.

“We told the president that the laws are anti-farmer and that farmers and labourers will suffer due to them. The government said these laws are in favour of the farmers, but the country is seeing that farmers are against these laws,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“The farmers would not return till these laws are taken back. The government should convene a joint session of Parliament and repeal these laws,” he told reporters after the meeting.

The Congress leader said all parties of the Opposition were with the farmers. He alleged that the way the laws were passed without any discussion, consultations, they needed to be withdrawn.

“We three people went to the president, but took the voice of farmers to the president, by taking 2 crore signatures of farmers,” he said, adding, “The farmers are in pain and are also dying, the prime minister will have to listen to them.”

He claimed that the country will suffer if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not take them back.

“Anyone trying to take power from Modi will be dubbed as anti-national,” he alleged.

Gandhi further alleged that only three-four people are running the system and said the party is fighting this.

“It is an assault on the idea of India. The government is stopping our MPs from moving out of our office...There is no democracy in India, it is only in imagination, not in reality,” he charged.

Earlier Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the government is committing a sin by name-calling the protesting farmers.

“It is a sin to brand farmers as anti-nationals. If the government is terming farmers’ protest as sedition, it is a sin. The government is committing a sin by calling names to farmers,” she said.

“The Government is arrogant, is doing only its own politics and has no respect for farmers or the jawans, who are the sons of farmers,” she charged.

She also alleged that anyone speaking against this government is name-called and dubbed as anti-nationals.