Many Youth Congress workers on Saturday blocked the Delhi-Jaipur Highway here and burnt tyres in protest against the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha. The party workers led by Haryana Youth Congress chief Divyanshu Budhiraja reached near Kherki Daula toll plaza at around 12:30 pm and raised slogans against the BJP government.
“The Centre has cancelled the membership of Rahul Gandhi to suppress the voice of the Opposition. We will protest on the streets against the dictatorial decision of the BJP government which is scared of the support received by Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'," Budhiraja said.
The Gurugram police reached the protest site and detained one of the protesters. "Vikas Parmar alias Lala, a resident of Rohtak, was detained. He was released later," a police officer said. Following the complaint of ASI Yogender Kumar, an FIR was registered against about 20 protesters under sections 147 (riots), 283 (obstruction in public way), 341 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC at the Kherki Daula police station, he said.
“A case was registered on Saturday against those who blocked the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. One of them was arrested while action will be taken against others," Inspector Rajender Kumar, SHO, Kherki Daula police station said.
Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction. Meanwhile, former BJP MP Sudha Yadav accused the Gandhi scion of making unwarranted comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during several occasions on both national and international platforms.
“The conduct of Rahul Gandhi in this case simply shows his arrogance. He has made unwarranted remarks against the prime minister in national and global fora," she said at a press conference here. Countering the charges, Congress leader Captain Ajay Yadav claimed it was the pre-plan of the saffron party and that the Union dispensation "cannot face the truth" as shown by Gandhi.
