Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, along with Congress leaders and workers, staged a protest outside Lok Bhawan, on Tuesday evening, against the “lathicharge” on protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and the detention of senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Event Context
The CM led the protest and actively raised slogans along with the party workers. Later, he also submitted a memorandum on behalf of the Congress party at Lok Bhawan.
Addressing the gathering, Sukhu said that the Centre was attempting to suppress the voice of students and youth. He said that more than 20 young people had allegedly ended their life due to the NEET paper leak.
The CM said that accountability for the deaths of young people must be fixed and demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said that when leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sat on a protest in support of the demands of the youth, he and Priyanka Gandhi were forcibly taken away in a vehicle. He demanded strict action against those responsible for the misbehaviour with both leaders.
He further said that the Centre was adopting a “repressive” approach towards the legitimate demands of the youth. The CM also demanded the withdrawal of cases against youths who had participated in protests in support of NEET students, and called for justice to be delivered to them.
Team Analysis
Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Congress state president Vinay Kumar, revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi, public works minister Vikramaditya Singh, along with other legislators, former legislators, chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of various boards and corporations, were present.
J&K Congress leaders detained outside Lok Bhavan in Jammu
Jammu Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra was detained along with dozens of senior party leaders and workers by police on Tuesday evening after the party staged a sit-in protest outside Lok Bhavan here.
The action followed a sit-in protest led by the Congress against the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other prominent leaders of the party in Delhi.
As the news about the Delhi police action reached the party headquarters, Karra led senior party leaders and activists to Lok Bhavan in Panjtirthi area to lodge their protest and chanted slogans demanding resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
While the protest was going on, a contingent of police reached the scene and detained Karra, working president Raman Bhalla, former minister Lal Singh and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma along with dozens of leaders and activists, officials said, adding they were taken to the Police Lines.
Talking to reporters, Karra alleged that the police crackdown on student protesters in Delhi on Monday reflected an “authoritarian mindset” and amounted to an assault on democratic values.
“The way protesters were beaten and tear gas shells were fired at them, without any regard for whether they were women, men or elderly persons, made it appear as though an emergency had been imposed. It no longer felt like a democratic country but one under police rule,” he said.
