Sonia, Rahul, Manmohan Released After Courting Arrest at Rally

Sonia Gandhi along with Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: Reuters)

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad have been released after they courted arrest at the ‘Save Democracy’ rally held at Jantar Mantar on Friday.

(Photo: ANI screengrab)

Speaking at the rally, Sonia Gandhi said the party would not buckle under any form of injustice and take detractors head on.

The Modi government is trying to destroy the roots of democracy. We are the people who have given their blood and laid down their lives to protect the basic principles of humanity.

Sonia Gandhi, Congress President

Congress President Sonia Gandhi. (Photo: ANI Screengrab)

Anyone who criticises Modi and the RSS is silenced.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice-President

Responding to the rally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had his own quip to make.

Amid escalating confrontation in Parliament, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the government at the ‘Save Democracy’ rally in Delhi.

The rally at Jantar Mantar was organised amid a face-off between the opposition party and the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre over a host of issues, including the AgustaWestland scandal.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present at the rally held in the backdrop of the imposition of President’s rule in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh and the alleged attempts to destabilise the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi is also expected to participate in a discussion on the AgustaWestland issue in the Lok Sabha.

Setting the tone for the rally, party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “masterminding a conspiracy to implicate” Congress leadership in the AgustaWestland case.

The cat is out by the manner in which the Prime Minister last night (Thursday) tweeted and hailed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s reply in Rajya Sabha on the issue. It shows not only his mindset but his strategy too.

Jairam Ramesh, Spokesperson, Congress

Attacking the Defence Minister, the Congress leader said in fact Parrikar’s reply was one of the “worst examples in Parliamentary history” as instead of responding to issues raised by the opposition, he read out a “catalogue of accusations and charges”. He accused Parrikar of not maintaining the dignity of a Defence Minister by “resorting to a political speech”.

Ramesh said the rally was being organised to also protest the government’s “assault” on central universities as seen in JNU, Hyderabad and Allahabad. On whether like-minded parties like JD(U) and the Left have been invited, he said it was a Congress rally.

While party leader Randeep Surjewala had last week said the party would gherao Parliament, Ramesh merely said after the rally the party would take out a march to Parliament. Party leaders have said the march was also to highlight the drought and the agrarian crisis that has led to a spate of suicides by farmers and affected 40 crore people in several states.

(With agency inputs.)