The Congress on Wednesday alleged that a delegation of its leaders was not allowed to visit Nagaland's Mon district where 14 civilians were killed by the security forces, with Rahul Gandhi claiming the government was "scared" of the party.
The delegation comprising Congress general secretary Jitendra Singh, the party's Nagaland in-charge Ajoy Kumar and MP Gaurav Gogoi protested at Jorhat in Assam claiming that they were not being allowed to visit Mon district and meet the families of the victims.
According to the party, the delegation was supposed to meet the victims' families and submit a report on the series of incidents that occurred last Saturday and Sunday.
"Congress delegation is not allowed to meet the bereaved families in Nagaland. The Government of India is scared of us sharing people's grief. But nothing will stop us," Rahul Gandhi said in a Facebook post using the hashtag 'No Fear'.
Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "The illegal detention of Congress delegation comprising Jitendra Singh, Gaurav Gogoi and Ajoy Kumar from visiting Nagaland reflects the fascist mindset of the (Narendra) Modi government."
"Civil liberties and life of the people of Northeast is imperilled and we are being prevented from exposing them," he said.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi had constituted a committee to visit families of the victims of violence in the Mon district of Nagaland and submit a report within a week.
Fourteen civilians were killed in related incidents of firing in the restive state on Saturday and Sunday. The first of these incidents was a case of mistaken identity. One soldier also died in rioting which followed.
In his statement in Parliament on Monday, Shah expressed regret over the Nagaland firing incident and said a probe by a Special Investigation Team will be completed within a month while asserting that all agencies must ensure such happenings do not recur while taking action against insurgents.
The Congress, later on Wednesday, issued a statement alleging that the BJP government in Assam has decided to "detain" the delegation.
The party alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Parliament on the Nagaland firing incident was "anything but a hogwash and offered little solace" to the grieving families who had lost their dear ones and to those who have been wounded and injured.
"What is beyond comprehension and condemnable is that the home minister, who is unable to secure either civilians or security personnel, could not even come up with the least humanitarian gesture of allowing the aggrieved to meet empathetic and pacifying groups.
"Spate of incidents in the recent past in the Northeast have exposed the incompetency of the Central government and their mishandling of internal security. The recent killings of innocents in Nagaland has punched a severe blow to the trust that the previous government had built over a long time," the Congress said.
