“Vendetta politics”, says Congress as Delhi police reaches Rahul’s residence New Delhi:A furious Congress condemned Delhi Police reaching Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Sunday and said the act smacked of “politics of intimidation” by the Centre.
“The Delhi Police top officials reaching Rahul Gandhi’s residence smacks of intimidation by the Modi government. Someone at the top must have asked them to take such action. We condemn such action,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
According to Singhvi, the Delhi Police had earlier sent a two-page questionnaire to Rahul Gandhi on March 16 asking him to furnish details of the women victims of molestation and domestic violence, who had met him during the Bharat Jodo yatra.
“Rahul Gandhi had sought around 10 days-time to submit his response. But senior police officials again reached his residence today. What is the hurry?” he said. The Congress leader further said that the Delhi police had no such jurisdiction to question the Wayanad MP as the questions pertained to his speech made in Jammu and Kashmir on January 30.
“The Delhi police has no jurisdiction over the matter. Then what were they doing for the past 45 days? The yatra covered around 4000 km and passed through 12 states. During the yatra he met lakhs of people. The police are asking the details of the women who met Rahul and shared their grievances with him. Normally, a leader just patiently listens to such grievances and asks the fellow yatris to take care of it,” said Singhvi, a senior Supreme Court advocate. “We have sought time and we will submit a detailed response in time,” he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the action of Delhi police showed that “democracy was in danger in the country” while party veteran Jairam Ramesh said “the police action had come due to the opposition unity over the Adani issue in Parliament.”
“What Rahul said in London about democracy is what he had been saying earlier. Whatever is happening shows there is no democracy in the country. What if a union minister travels across Rajasthan tomorrow, meets people and makes similar observations about women getting molested? Should the state police send notices to him? They are setting very wrong precedents which will go against them,” said Gehlot.
“The Centre misuses central agencies to threaten the opposition. We will not let them go. We will keep raising the Adani issue,” he said. “The government is rattled by the opposition unity in Parliament over the Adani issue. We will keep raising the issue. The government has no answers to the unemployment issue,” said Ramesh.
According to Gehlot, such police action based on a zero FIR had never happened in the country over the past 75 years. “If there is a zero FIR, who registered it? It is clear that the police are getting instructions from the top,” he said.
Making a comparison of the situation with the Janata Party government after the Emergency, Gehlot said that then Congress leader and former prime Indira Gandhi was also targeted in a similar way. “Everyone knows what happened in 1980. She came back to power,” he said.
