No Place For Violence, Revenge In India

New Delhi:

The Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the UP government today, two days after she accused Lucknow police of manhandling her, alleging that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s administration and the cops were “complicit in wrongdoings” in their brutal crackdown on people protesting the citizenship law. In a short but impassioned press conference Ms Gandhi Vadra dismissed concerns about her own safety and said India was “no place for enmity, violence and revenge”. She also alleged UP police had been arresting people – 31 were detained for their alleged role in last week’s protests alone – who had nothing to do with agitations against the citizenship law.

“My safety isn’t a big issue… (it) doesn’t deserve security. We are talking about safety of common man, safety of citizens. The cases we know of suggest more than 5,500 have been arrested. Many have been jailed in discreet manner… they are being thrashed. Police and administration are complicit in wrongdoing,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

The Congress leader also claimed the police in the state were “working to ensure Yogi’s badla (revenge)”, referring to a shocking statement by the Chief Minister; he was quoted as saying: “We will take badla on them (the protestors)”.

Earlier today the Congress demanded a judicial inquiry into the “unlawful conduct” of Uttar Pradesh police officers, whose actions, the party said, were not in keeping with a force duty-bound to protect the rights of citizens.

In a 14-page memorandum to Governor Anandiben Patel the party said the conduct of the police had been observed and reported to be “patently unlawful, destructive of the rule of law and repressive of honest citizens”.