Kolkata, Jul 21 (PTI) The Congress’ West Bengal unit staged a protest in front of the Lok Bhavan here on Tuesday against the detention of Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders following their dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi.
Opposition leaders, including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, were forcibly removed by Delhi Police on Tuesday after they staged the dharna, demanding Modi’s resignation.
The surprise sit-in prompted Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan to rush to the site to persuade the opposition leaders to vacate the area.
Gandhi’s discussion with the minister lasted a few minutes, after which Singh and the home secretary left as the talks remained inconclusive. Soon after Singh left the protest site, police forcibly removed and detained Gandhi and other leaders in the evening.
Condemning Gandhi’s detention, state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar led a protest march in Kolkata, which began at 8 pm and culminated outside the Lok Bhavan.
“Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress leaders, who were holding a peaceful protest, have been detained by the police in Delhi.
“In protest against this, we held a march to the Raj Bhavan in solidarity with similar demonstrations being organised across the country,” the party said here.
Several state Congress leaders, including Deepa Dasmunsi, joined the protest. PTI SCH NSD
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