Guwahati: The Assam Nagarik Sanmilan on Wednesday condemned the alleged police action and detention of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with other opposition leaders and civil society members, during a protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi.
In a press statement, the civil society organisation said the demonstration was held to protest alleged police action against students and youth who had gathered on July 20 under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party.
Alleging that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were manhandled by police personnel during the demonstration, the group demanded a thorough investigation by a People’s Inquiry Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.
“The manhandling of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi by the police is deeply disturbing and exposes the authoritarian character of the BJP government,” the Assam Nagarik Sanmilan said in its statement.
The organization further alleged that the police used force against peaceful demonstrators and claimed that “the police hired goons to beat the students and themselves indulged in violence and disruptive activities to malign the protesters.”
According to the statement, Minister of State Jitendra Singh met Rahul Gandhi while he was sitting on a dharna to urge him to end the protest. The group alleged that when persuasion failed, “the Leader of the Opposition and others were forcibly removed”.
The organisation also noted that attempts by opposition parties to raise the student protest and paper leak issue in Parliament were blocked, which led to the impromptu dharna outside the Prime Minister’s doorstep.
“The issue has now transcended paper leaks; it is the government itself that is lacking credibility,” the statement noted, adding that the government had failed to address accountability concerns raised by the youth. Calling for peaceful unity, the organization urged citizens to remain steadfast while maintaining nonviolence.
The press statement was jointly issued on behalf of the Assam Nagarik Sanmilan by Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Paresh Malakar, Shantanu Barthakur, and Abdul Mannan.