Hours after release, Rahul detained again after meeting veteran's family
New Delhi: Hours after release, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained again on Wednesday and taken to police station after he tried to meet the family members of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly committed suicide.
High drama unfolded on streets in Lutyens' Delhi with Congress and AAP workers staging protests. Gandhi along with other Congress leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ajay Maken were bundled into a police van and taken to the police station.
70-year-old Grewal, an ex-serviceman from Haryana's Bhiwani district, ended his life yesterday by allegedly consuming poison on the lawns behind a government building in Janpath, the central area of the capital.
Earlier in the day, Rahul was not allowed to meet Grewal's family at the RML Hospital in the national capital. Gandhi was not allowed to enter the hospital premises by the security personnel deployed at the entrance gate.
Rahul was briefly detained and taken to Mandir Marg Police Station, following which Congress workers protested outside the police station and he was released after 70-minute detention.
Speaking to reporters, Rahul wondered whether democracy works in this fashion. "Naya Hindustan ban raha hai bhaiya (New India is in making)...This is Modi ji's India," the Congress-vice president said after he was denied entry.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP MLA Surinder Singh were also detained at the RML Hospital after Sisodia met Grewal’s family.
"Rahul Gandhi was detained at Mandir Marg Police Station for 'disruption of duty' after he tried to enter RML premises to meet the family of the ex-serviceman," Senior police officer MK Meena said.
Meena added that 'this is a hospital, not a place for demonstration,' stating that AAP leaders who were 'creating disturbance' were also detained.
He claimed that the family members of the deceased were protesting at the site and contacting politicians, following which they too were held.
Earlier, Sisodia managed to enter the hospital premises and meet the family members of the deceased, before being detained by police. Eyewitnesses said Sisodia could enter the premises as he came in a civilian car, which went undetected by the security.
Vehicular movement outside the hospital was thrown out of gear as Rahul Gandhi's presence led to chaos.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too reached RML hospital and lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he was lying on the 'One rank, One Pension' issue.
"The Prime Minister says OROP has been implemented, and soldiers are dying demanding it to be implemented. It means the PM is lying across the country.”
"Then why did he commit suicide? The Centre is deceiving the army. I have come to meet his family. If anyone commits suicide in my state, should I not meet the family?”
"BJP is doing politics. They have detained the Deputy CM. We will have to postpone the Cabinet meeting. Why? Because the Centre has resorted to hooliganism," Kejriwal told reporters outside the hospital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while celebrating the Diwali with the army and ITBP personnel in Kinnaur, had said that the first instalment of nearly Rs 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme.
OROP scheme has been a long-standing demand of nearly three-million ex-servicemen and war widows in the country. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel, who retire at the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
