From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: A delegation of the Congress MPs, led by senior party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla to apprise him of the alleged manhandling and violence meted out to them by Delhi Police while protesting against interrogations by the Enforcement Directorate in a false National Herald-related money laundering case.
They alleged entry of the police personnel in the premises of the AICC headquarters on Wednesday to beat up the party workers gathered their for the peaceful “satyagrah” against the government’s vindictive action against the party leadership.
“We told the Speaker in detail, the manner in which we’ve been subjected to atrocities and violence. Speaker listened to us attentively. We spoke about Delhi Police officers who barged into the AICC office and attacked our MPs and workers in a pre-planned manner,” Chowdhury told reporters.
He further alleged that the Congress MPs and workers were treated as “terrorists” inside the police stations. “Even at Police Stations, Delhi Police behaved with Congress MPs as if our MPs and workers are terrorists. Rahul Gandhi was called for three consecutive days for 10-12 hours long questioning. We don’t object to it. We just want to say that don’t use vendetta and violent politics,” Chowdhury said.
Delhi police had detained more than 800 Congress workers and party leaders as massive protests broke out in front of the ED office and the party headquarters in the national capital. The police, while denying allegations of high-handedness against them, said that the protesters didn’t have any permission to conduct the protests and had also violated the Supreme Court’s set of guidelines for protests.
“Many people threw barricades at police near the AICC office, so there might’ve been a scrimmage. But police didn’t go inside the AICC office and use lathi charge. Police are not using any force. We will appeal to them to coordinate with us,” SP Hooda, Special CP (Law and Order) asserted on Wednesday.
Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram claimed that Chowdhury was roughed up by the police on Wednesday morning and it was caught on camera. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and shared a video of a woman Congress MP who was allegedly manhandled by the Delhi police.
In a tweet, Tharoor said: “This is outrageous in any democracy. To deal with a woman protestor like this violates every Indian standard of decency, but to do it to a LokSabha MP is a new low. I condemn the conduct of the @DelhiPolice & demand accountability. Speaker @ombirlakota please act!”
COMPLAINT TO RS CHAIRMAN TOO: In a tweet, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, said: “We have given our complains to the Hon’ble Chairman of the RS on the manner in which police have attacked us in the last 3 days. They have assaulted MPs, they have detained them without written orders, and denied them food & water.”
Chidambaram addressed a press conference along with the party MPs after petitioning Rajy Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. He said they told Naidu how Delhi Police had beaten up the MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. They were illegally detained at various police station and not formally arrested as the Police is duty-bound to inform the Rajya Sabha chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker if any MP is arrested, Chidambaram said.
Venkaiah Naidu assured the delegation that he will sit with the Rajya Sabha Secretary General and examine their petition to decide what steps should be taken.
He said it is crystal clear that the Police detained the Congress MPs for 12 hours without any written order, without arresting them since it will require producing them before a magistrate within 24 hours. Asserting that the fundamental rights of the MPs have been violated, he said the MPs urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to take action against Delhi Police and referred the matter to the privilege committee for such a blatant breach of privileges of the MPs.
Others who addressed the media after meeting the Rajya Sabha chairman included Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who said their detention was purely to harass the MPs protesting against the Enforcement Directorate for probing Rahul Gandhi, as also AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and other MPs.
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