Bilaspur Congress Protests Rahul Gandhi Detention, Calls It Threat to Democracy

The Bilaspur District Congress Committee held a press conference in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, to protest Rahul Gandhi’s detention by the Delhi Police during a demonstration by opposition MPs against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Congress described the action as a threat to democracy.

The press conference was held at the Congress party office in Bilaspur. Former cabinet minister Ramlal Thakur, Congress state vice-president Bambar Thakur, state general secretary Vikas Thakur and district president Anjana Dhiman were present along with other party office-bearers.

The protest had taken place the previous day. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with opposition MPs, had staged a protest against the government in connection with their opposition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Bilaspur District Congress Committee objected to the Delhi Police action of detaining Rahul Gandhi during the protest.

The INDIA bloc MPs, led by Rahul Gandhi, had taken out a march from the Parliament building to Nirvachan Sadan. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and several other MPs then sat in a sit-in protest under a tree inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises.

The protest and sit-in continued for around 9 hours. At around 8 pm the previous evening, the Delhi Police detained Rahul Gandhi and other leaders, according to the briefing.

Speaking about the action, former cabinet minister Ramlal Thakur said that such incidents and attempts to silence the Opposition were not good for democracy. He said that the Election Commission cutting the names of 13 crore voters in the country and preparing to cut 16 crore votes was shameful and condemnable.

Ramlal Thakur also questioned how democracy would function if voters were deprived of their right to vote. He said attention needed to be paid to this issue.

He further said that Congress workers would go from house to house in the coming time to make people aware of all these matters. They would also provide information about the policies of the Congress party and its development work.