Rahul Gandhi detained at protest over Sonia Gandhi's ED questioning
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday after a massive protest at Vijay Chowk in the national capital. The party organized a show of support for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi—summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case. The police also detained other senior leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Ranjeet Ranjan, Manickam Tagore, and Imran Pratapgarhi.
Congress chief Gandhi, accompanied by her children Rahul and Priyanka, reached the ED office for a second round of questioning on Tuesday. The party reportedly organized "satyagrahas" against the ED summons to her across the national capital. However, the Delhi Police detained Congress leaders while they were marching from Parliament to Vijay Chowk with a banner urging the government to stop "misusing" the ED.
Surrounded by cops, Rahul sat on a dharna and also protested against various government policies, including the GST hike, inflation, and the Agnipath scheme. Before being detained, Gandhi reportedly said, "India is a police state, [PM] Modi is a king." After a 30-minute standoff, he was detained, along with many party MPs, by cops who lifted and put him on a bus, NDTV reported.
#WATCH | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi detained by Delhi Police at Vijay Chowk
— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022
Congress MPs had taken out a protest march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk pic.twitter.com/kjfhKx0Gvd
मोदी सरकार संविधान और लोकतंत्र की दिन दहाड़े हत्या करेगी और हम चुप बैठेंगे?
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 26, 2022
क़तई नहीं। यह बदसलूकी सांसदों के साथ हो रही है
उनका क़सूर: कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष सोनिया जी के ख़िलाफ़ ED की फ़र्ज़ी कार्यवाही का विरोध करना#SatyagrahaWithSoniaGandhi pic.twitter.com/bIRlj734Xp
"We are standing here, raising the issue of price rise and unemployment. We are raising the voice of India. The police system you see here today is being run by Adani and Ambani," Gandhi said moments before being detained at the Congress "satyagraha." Gandhi and other Congress leaders were put on a bus and reportedly taken to the Kingsway Camp Police Station in Delhi.
तानाशाही हुकूमत के विरुद्ध संघर्ष करते हुए- गांधी, नेहरू, पटेल भी जेल गए थे।
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 26, 2022
इस तानाशाही हुकूमत की जेल से मुझे भी डर नहीं लगता।
संघर्ष जारी रहेगा..#SatyagrahaWithSoniaGandhi pic.twitter.com/jvWu6XD78s
The developments come amid a raging monsoon session of the Parliament, where both houses have been riddled by opposition protests. On Monday, four Lok Sabha MPs of the Congress were suspended for "unruly behavior" after they protested with placards inside the house. The MPs, including Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothi Mani, and TN Prathapan, have been suspended for the entire monsoon session.
Meanwhile, the Congress president appeared before the ED on Tuesday for her second round of questioning in the money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper. Ahead of Gandhi's questioning, the Delhi Police boosted the deployment of forces near Delhi's Congress office. Meanwhile, the police denied the party permission to demonstrate at the Raj Ghat and enforced CrPC Section 144 there.
