New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav and several party members were detained on Wednesday during a protest near the BJP headquarters here against the detention of Rahul Gandhi and the police action against students protesting over paper leaks.
According to an official statement by the party, thousands of Delhi Congress workers, led by Yadav, marched from the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) office towards the BJP headquarters at DDU Marg, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and action against those responsible for the alleged assault on students.
The protesters were stopped by police using barricades some distance from the BJP office, following which several senior Congress leaders, including Yadav and AICC Delhi in-charge Qazi Nizamuddin, were detained and taken to the IP Estate police station, according to the party.
The demonstration came a day after Gandhi was detained following a sit-in outside the prime minister’s residence while seeking Narendra Modi’s resignation and a dialogue with the government on students’ issues, demanding accountability over paper leaks.
“Every Congress worker is standing with Shri Rahul Gandhi in his fight to protect the future of crores of students,” Yadav said.
He condemned the detention of Gandhi, saying the manner in which the Leader of Opposition was dragged away by police while sitting on a dharna outside the prime minister’s residence was “unprecedented in the history of the country”.
Yadav also alleged that hundreds of students were severely injured after being “brutally beaten up” by police while peacefully protesting against paper leaks, corruption and mismanagement of competitive examinations.
He demanded Pradhan’s immediate resignation and strict action against those who allegedly assaulted the students.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the students for the police brutality on students at his behest,” Yadav said.
The Congress also demanded withdrawal of cases registered against the protesting students.
Yadav claimed that 7.5 crore students had been affected by the leakage of 152 competitive examination papers in the last 10 years.
The protestors also raised slogans against the government and alleged that the police was being used to silence voices demanding justice.
The party said prominent leaders who participated in the protest included Qazi Nizamuddin, former Delhi ministers Narendra Nath and Kiran Walia, and several former MLAs and senior DPCC leaders.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were detained on Tuesday after staging a sit-in outside the prime minister’s residence. Gandhi was taken to Chhatrasal Stadium and released a few hours later. PTI MSJ APL
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