New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday detained for the third time in two days, with Delhi Police picking him up from Jantar Mantar to prevent him from leading a protest over the suicide of an ex-serviceman, allegedly due to his grievances over the implementation of OROP.
Around 7 pm, Mr Rahul was whisked away by police, first to 5 Firoz Shah Road and later to Tughlak Road Police Station where he was kept for over one hour.
The police action triggered sharp reactions from the Congress leadership which accused the Narendra Modi government of making a “mockery of democracy” and likened the situation to an “undeclared emergency”.
Speaking to reporters after his release, Mr Rahul claimed police refused to lodge his complaint over his detention.
“If police refuses to accept the complaint of an MP, imagine the plight of the common man. How will they accept their complaints? Yeh Modi ji ka naya Hindustan hai (This is the new India of Modi),” he said.
Police sources claimed that Mr Rahul wanted to lodge a complaint of “kidnapping” against it, however, he “later changed his mind.”
Police also claimed that Mr Rahul refused to get off the police vehicle at Firoz Shah Road, forcing them to take him to Tughlak Road Police Station.
“Rahul Gandhi was detained at Tolstoy Marg when he continued his candle march towards India Gate in spite of repeated requests not to proceed. He along with other leaders was brought to the police station, Tuglak Road, and were released,” police said.
The police action enraged Congress leadership, prompting former Union minister Salman Khurshid, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala and DPCC chief Ajay Maken to hit out at the Centre, under which the Delhi Police functions.
Earlier, confusion prevailed on whether Mr Rahul was detained or not as police kept on claiming that the Congress leader was not detained but merely taken away from the protest site keeping his security in mind. Mr Rahul, however, claimed in a tweet: “Was detained by Delhi police and taken away from Jantar Mantar.”
