Delhi Police denies Congress permission to hold satyagraha at Rajghat against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has denied permission to the Congress for holding a day-long ‘satyagraha’ at Rajghat to protest against former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, officials said on Sunday.

In a letter, the Delhi Police said the request was rejected due to law and order and traffic reasons and prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC imposed in and around Rajghat.

Congress workers and leaders have started reaching Rajghat as part of their protest to hold 'Satyagraha' in front of Gandhi statues at all states and district headquarters. The satyagraha was supposed to begin at 10 AM and end at 5 PM.

While permission for holding the satyagraha has been denied, adequate security arrangements have been put in place, sources said.

Party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal tweeted, "After silencing our voice in Parliament, the government has refused to let us hold a peaceful Satyagraha at Bapu's Samadhi as well. It has become a habit for the Modi government to disallow every opposition protest. This will not deter us, our fight for truth, against tyranny goes on."

The Congress is planning a nationwide agitation from Monday, a day after Satyagraha.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that democracy is under attack and that he is "not scared to ask questions about the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Adani Group".

He made the remarks while addressing a press conference in Delhi.

Gandhi who represents Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case and sentenced him to a two-year jail term.

The case was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi against Gandhi for allegedly defaming the Modi community by his comments at a 2019 rally in Karnataka’s Kolar district.

Gandhi was disqualified under provisions of Article 102 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of Representation of the People's Act.

The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction.

The Congress leader claimed that the action against him was taken because Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "scared" of his next speech in Parliament on the Adani issue and alleged that the "whole game" was to distract people from the issue and the panic the government was feeling over the matter.

"My voice is being suppressed," Rahul Gandhi said and claimed that he spoke to the Speaker against the false accusations made by four ministers but was not allowed to speak.

He also alleged that the "relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani is not new". "I will not stop asking questions about whose money is the Rs 20,000 crore that has come out from shell companies," he added.

The senior Congress leader further said that he is here to defend the voice of the nation, adding: "I am not scared of prison sentence, disqualification and others I am not that type of person and they do not understand me. I am not going to back down and will be on the principle."

The Congress has said that Rahul Gandhi was not alone and that millions of Congressmen and people irrespective of their political affiliations will join him in the fight for truth and justice.

With inputs from agencies