A total of 335 Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained by the Delhi Police on Friday, 5 August, as they marched to the the Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against the unemployment, inflation and price rise in the country.
This comes after Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in a speech earlier, arguing that its activities had caused the "onset of dictatorship in India." He also added that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was in control of all independent institutions.
Congress workers across the country had taken to the streets to protest against the Narendra Modi government, and hundreds, if not thousands, of them were detained.
From the imposition of Section 144 in Delhi to clashes between the police and Congress workers, here are 10 key highlights from the protests on Friday:
10 Key Highlights
1. Over 300 Congress leaders, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were taken to Delhi's Kingsway Camp Police Station after being detained during their 'PM House Gherao' agitation over inflation in the country. Section 144 was also imposed across New Delhi.
2. Ahead of the protests, Gandhi alleged in a speech that the country was witnessing the "onset of dictatorship." He also said that all the independent institutions in the country were under the control of the RSS.
3. The BJP hit back at Gandhi, with former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleging that the party was trying to "hide" corruption by the Gandhis. He also said that democratic voices had been muzzled by his grandmother Indira Gandhi when she imposed the Emergency in 1975.
4. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi had led an agitation against the Centre in Parliament. All party MPs were dressed in black to mark their protest.
5. Water cannons were used by the police in Chandigarh to disperse Congress workers. Protesters also clashed with the police in most, if not all, states.
6. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "handed over the nation's wealth to his friends," adding that they were "blind" to the rise in prices of essential commodities and the impact it was having on common people.
7. Vadra was seen being dragged into a police vehicle from outside the party's headquarters. She had climbed over barricades to reach the spot, and staged a brief agitation before she was forcibly taken away by women police constables.
8. The Maharashtra Congress claimed that thousands of its party workers were detained across Mumbai and were not allowed to even begin their protest march.
9. There was heavy police presence outside the Congress headquarters before the protest began, which the party slammed as scare tactics.
10. Other senior party leaders detained by the police in Delhi included Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, Harish Rawat, Ranjeet Ranjan, P Chidambaram, Deepender Hooda, and Shashi Tharoor.
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