Friday, 24 March 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In protest against the conviction of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case in Surat, Gujarat, the Uttarakhand Congress held a protest here on Thursday. Holding placards the Congress workers assembled at the clock tower and held a vociferous protest. The protest created traffic chaos and a situation of jam in the main roads of the city. Large number of the Congress leaders and workers courted arrest and were taken to the Police lines.
Speaking on the occasion, the former chief minister and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Harish Rawat said that the legal proceedings against Rahul Gandhi is the biggest attack by the BJP government on the freedom of expression. He said that the BJP government has got afraid of the immense success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi and the government has taken a vindictive stand to harass the Congress leader. He said that what Rahul Gandhi said was a general discussion on what is happening in politics of the country. Rawat said that the case registered in Surat is an old one. He added that the workers of the Congress party would not tolerate the harassment of Rahul Gandhi and would always stand with him. Rawat warned that the Congress workers would start Jail Bharo campaign if the Modi government continues to harass the leaders of Congress party.
The former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Pritam Singh said that the Surat incident is very unfortunate and such events have no place in democracy. He said that Rahul Gandhi had not talked about any specific person. Singh said that the BJP government has become vindictive and all types of cases are being registered on the leaders of Congress party and the leaders of opposition parties. The Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have become the tools in the hands of the government to harass opposition leaders.
The chairman of the disciplinary committee of Congress Nav Prabhat said that the constitution of India guarantees freedom of expression to its citizens. He said that it is unfortunate that speaking against the government has come under the category of a crime. He said that the Modi government is acting in an unconstitutional manner.
The MLAs of Congress Mamta Rakesh, Furkan Ahmed, Vikram Singh Negi, Ravi Bahadur, Virendra Jati, Anupma Rawat former cabinet minister Rajendra Singh Bhandari, Vice presidents Mathura Dut Joshi, Surya Kant Dhasmana, chief spokesperson Garima Dasauni and others were present on the occasion.
