New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other party MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk here on Tuesday after they staged a protest against party chief Sonia Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate.
This is the second day of the Congress president's questioning by the ED in a money-laundering case pertaining to the National Herald-Associated Journals Limited case. She was earlier questioned by the agency on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi and the other MPs had assembled in Parliament and marched towards Vijay Chowk on their way to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to draw the president's attention to the alleged misuse of central agencies by the government, but were stopped by police.
Rahul Gandhi was put in a police bus but officials did not disclose where he was being taken to. The other Congress MPs were detained and taken away in separate police buses.
"India is a police state, Modi is a king," Rahul Gandhi said.
He alleged that discussions are not being allowed in Parliament.
"I am not going anywhere. We wanted to go towards the president's house but the police are not allowing us," the former Congress chief said as police stopped him from marching towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"Look at the dictatorship, cannot hold peaceful demonstrations, cannot discuss inflation and unemployment. By misusing the police and agencies, even by arresting us, you will never be able to silence us. Only 'Truth' will end this dictatorship," Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter while sharing pictures of his protest.
In another tweet in Hindi, he said, "The country's 'King' has ordered -- whosoever asks questions on unemployment, inflation, wrong GST, Agneepath -- put them in jail." "Even though I am in custody now, even though it may be considered a crime to raise the voice of the people in the country now, they will never be able to break our spirits," Rahul Gandhi said.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that he, along with other Congress MPs, was manhandled by police, adding that this is being done at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"This is a conspiracy by the Modi-Shah duo," Kharge said as he was being taken away by police.
Congress leader K C Venugopal said, "Repress us or arrest us, our spirits will not be broken. Our struggle against the oppressive BJP continues."
Congress's chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh tweeted: "All Congress MPs stopped at Vijay Chowk and prevented from marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Forcibly arrested. Now we are in police buses being taken to a place only PM and HM know where...."
The Congress leaders were later taken to the Kingsway Camp police station, where they used the occasion of their detention to brainstorm on the party's strategy in Parliament after opposition MPs were suspended from the House.
The leaders of several parties also wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention on the alleged misuse of probe agencies by the BJP-led Centre against its political opponents.
Nineteen opposition MPs, including those from the TMC, the DMK, the CPI(M), the CPI and the TRS, were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remaining days of the week, a day after four Congress MPs were suspended for the remainder of the session in the Lok Sabha.
"With the suspension of Opposition MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it is abundantly clear that Modi Sarkar is no mood to allow the Opposition to raise real, urgent issues being faced by the people of our country in Parliament," Ramesh wrote on Twitter.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) said the government can suspend its members from Parliament but "cannot silence us". The Mamata Banerjee-led party also said it is a "deplorable situation" when its MPs were suspended while trying to flag people's issues.
"For how long will this go on? The sanctity of the Parliament stands heavily compromised," the party wrote on Twitter.
"The Delhi Police harassed us. They have taken almost all the 75 MPs under detention and are taking them to unknown places," said Manickam Tagore of the Congress.
Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said, "We were holding a peaceful protest to give a petition to the president, but were attacked by the police. All the MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, have been arrested and taken to police stations." Earlier, the Congress MPs met in the Parliament complex to decide on their strategy on a day Sonia Gandhi was questioned by the ED for the second time.
They also staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Parliament complex and were joined by the leaders of other parties too.
"Had a meeting of all the MPs of Congress to discuss the strategy to stand against and challenge the vindictive harassment of Sr Congress leaders by BJP using ED, CBI and other central agencies. The Modi government must remember that Congress inherently knows to counter oppressive forces," Kharge said in a tweet.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ajay Maken claimed that they were denied permission to organise a "satyagraha" outside Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi was also questioned by the ED in the same case last month in sessions that clocked more than 50 hours over five days.
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