Maha Cong stages protest over detention of Rahul, Priyanka

Maharashtra Congress workers on Thursday held a demonstration here over detention of their leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while they were on way to meet the family of the Hathras gang-rape victim, and demanded dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government.

Maharashtra Congress workers on Thursday held a demonstration here over detention of their leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while they were on way to meet the family of the Hathras gang-rape victim, and demanded dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government. The party claimed Rahul Gandhi was manhandled.

The demonstration was held at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Mantralaya (state secretariat) in south Mumbai. State revenue minister and Maharashtra Congress president Balasaheb Thorat said his party would continue to fight till the victim's kin get justice.

"The Congress will not be cowed down by pressure tactics. Today's incident proves that there is no rule of law but a jungle raj in Uttar Pradesh," Thorat said. "The Uttar Pradesh government was trying to shield the accused and hence it stopped Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary in-charge of UP Priyanka GandhiVadra from meeting the family," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by the Uttar Pradesh police after they were stopped on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida while walking towards Hathras to meet the rape victim's family. Rahul Gandhi also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway.

Besides Thorat, Congress ministers in the MVA government Satej Patil, Amit Deshmukh, Aslam Shaikh, Varsha Gaikwad, ex-ministers Naseem Khan, Anees Ahmed, party's Mumbai unit president Eknath Gaikwad and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan also took part in the protest. They shouted slogans against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and demanded dismissal of his government.

Congress veteran and PWD minister Ashok Chavan hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over detention of the two party leaders. "What have Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra done that they were taken into custody and not allowedto meet the family? Why is the UP government scared to face reality?" Ashok Chavan said.

Prithviraj Chavan said, "State-sponsored terrorism in UP is at its peak. Why were Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi prevented from going to Hathras to meet the family? Why were they detained." "I condemn the manhandling of Congress leaders. What is Yogi Adityanath scared of? He must be sacked," Prithviraj Chavan..