Dramatic footage Thursday showed a confrontation between Gandhi, 50, and UP Police.
New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi quoted Mahatma Gandhi in a tweet this morning as saying that he “will not bow to any injustice of any kind,” a day after he was briefly detained while marching to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Gandhi, together with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were leading a march yesterday towards the village where a 20-year-old woman was gang-raped and tortured; She died Tuesday morning at a Delhi hospital, sparking widespread outrage across the country.
“I will not fear anyone in the world. I will not bow down to any injustice. I will defeat lies with the power of truth and face all struggles while fighting lies … Kind regards Gandhi Jayanti”, Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi this morning, invoking Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birthday.
Dramatic footage Thursday showed a confrontation between Gandhi, 50, and UP Police. He was pushed and fell to the ground during the fight. Both Mr. Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were briefly detained for violating the ban on large gatherings amid a pandemic.
“Why am I being arrested? What are the reasons for the arrest? What law am I breaking,” Rahul Gandhi said yesterday afternoon during the heated exchange with policemen, who said they were charging him with “Section 188”, a law on defying official orders.
Subsequently, on Thursday a police case was filed against Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra under the Law on Epidemics. The First Informative Report names 150 congressional workers, who apparently had accompanied the two leaders.
The incident was condemned by various political leaders. “The reckless behavior of the UP police towards the leader of Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is extremely reprehensible. It is reprehensible that those who are supposed to uphold the law trample on democratic values in such a way,” tweeted the leader of the Communist Party of China, Sharad Pawar.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav wrote: “It is the duty and democratic right of the opposition parties to protest against all indiscriminate abuse of power by the oppressive regime! The voice and will of the people cannot be silenced nor repressed! We unequivocally condemn the arrest of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi (sic) “.
The UP government, however, dismissed the protest as a “political stunt.”
The 20-year-old who died Tuesday had suffered multiple fractures, paralysis and a severe spinal injury when she was assaulted by four men from the so-called upper castes of her village on September 14. Police said it had a cut on it. tongue because she had bitten it when men tried to strangle her.
The family alleged that they were not allowed to be part of the 2:30 am cremation by UP police officers, despite repeated appeals. The rape incident has once again sparked protests in various parts of the country as questions arise about the safety of women.
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