Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi after they entered Akashvani Bhawan on Tuesday. The sudden move during an INDIA bloc protest caused unease among alliance partners, who felt the joint demonstration turned into a Gandhi siblings' show. Congress leaders said they regretted the suspicion this created.
Delhi Police registered FIR against Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi over forcibly entering Akashvani Bhawan.
ANI
New Delhi:
A sudden decision by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to enter central Delhi's Akashvani Bhawan, near the Election Commission office, during an INDIA bloc protest on Tuesday, without informing alliance partners, has caused unease within the Opposition ranks, with some allies feeling the joint demonstration was reduced to a Gandhi siblings' show.
Congress leaders, speaking privately, conceded that they decided to go to Akashvani Bhawan, the headquarters of All India Radio (AIR), on the spur of the moment, so they could not inform alliance partners in time. They said they regretted the suspicion the move had created among allies.
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On their way to Nirvachan Sadan, the EC office, INDIA bloc MPs first staged a protest inside Parliament and then marched out via Parivahan Bhawan, which houses the road transport ministry. Police stopped them as they moved past the Reserve Bank of India building, after which the leaders sat down for a dharna on the spot.
Police detained the protesters and put them on buses. Priyanka Gandhi had also boarded a bus. The detained INDIA bloc leaders were taken to the Parliament Street police station, but Rahul Gandhi entered Akashvani Bhawan, where Priyanka Gandhi later joined him.
The sit-in continued till late night, until police detained them. An FIR was later filed.
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When word spread that only Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders were on dharna, phone calls began across the alliance. The Trinamool Congress (Mamata Banerjee faction) sent Derek O'Brien to Akashvani Bhawan, while the Samajwadi Party sent Rampur MP Mohibbullah Nadvi.
Alliance partners felt the protest had turned into a Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi dharna. Some leaders also questioned whether, if the INDIA bloc's entire protest was directed against the Election Commission and the Chief Election Commissioner, it was appropriate to demand a meeting with them.
Some Congress leaders, however, argued that in the present circumstances it was difficult to stage pre-planned protests, and that an element of surprise was necessary to keep demonstrations fresh. They said that if Congress failed to inform an ally in time, that party should join on its own.
Congress leaders also pointed out that similar surprise protests had been held at the Prime Minister's residence and at the Parliament Street police station, and alliance partners had joined those only later, back in July when paper leaks had spurred a youth movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party. They claimed the Congress-led protests resulted in the Education Minister having to resign on July 25, though the CJP also claims primary credit for it.
Congress leaders indicated that such surprise protests by Rahul Gandhi and the party would continue.
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