New Delhi, July 26 (Agency) Delhi Police on Tuesday detained 57 Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) along with Rahul Gandhi from North Fountain near Parliament after they gathered and held protest to show solidarity with their party president Sonia Gandhi who was again summoned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) for appearance before the probe agency in National Herald case. According to Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police, L & O Division, Zone-II, Delhi, adequate police arrangements were put in place in the New Delhi District to maintain law & order and avert any untoward incident. At about 11:00 am, a large number of the Congress workers started gathering at various locations like Akbar Road, Man Singh Road, Vijay Chowk and Janpath and started protesting.
Some MPs including Rahul Gandhi started a march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk with other supporters. When stopped by police, they started protesting near Vijay Chowk. They were appropriately warned about the prohibitory orders in force in the area but they continued the protest, thereby violating prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC. The protestors were, therefore, detained under 65 Delhi Police Act in order to maintain law & order in the area, said Hooda. Some protestors were also detained from Akbar Road and other places. An incident of putting a private motorcycle on fire was reported near the Claridges Hotel during the day. Appropriate legal action was being taken into the matter, Hooda added. Total 259 persons including 57 MPs were detained and intimation about detention of MPs/MLAs was being sent to the respective competent authorities. The Congress accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of denying it permission to hold ‘Satyagraha’ outside Rajghat here, as part of the party’s nationwide protest against questioning of its president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case, and called it an attack on democracy.
The Congress also reiterated that questioning of the party chief by the ED is only a ‘political vendetta’ carried out with the intent to pressurise the Opposition from raising various issues, including unemployment and inflation. “As a part of it, in Delhi we decided to hold ‘Satyagraha’ in front of Rajgath. Its unfortunate that a principal Opposition party was denied permission by the Central government,” Congress general secretary Ajay Maken said at a press conference at the party headquarters ahead of Gandhi’s questioning. “We are all for peaceful protest. We are requesting all our workers to be peaceful.” Delhi Traffic Police today diverted several traffic routes leading to the ED office and 24 Akbar Road. Several roads were barricaded to maintain proper traffic movement.