Lakhs of party workers will hold protests on Monday against Agnipath, targeting of Rahul Gandhi: Congress

PTI

New Delhi, June 19

The Congress said lakhs of party workers across the country will hold peaceful protests on Monday against the “anti-youth” Agnipath scheme and the Modi government’s “vendetta politics” in targeting Rahul Gandhi.

A delegation of Congress leaders will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind to bring to his notice the alleged manhandling and harassment of party MPs by the Delhi Police during their protests against Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

The ED had allowed Gandhi’s request to defer his questioning in the National Herald money-laundering case from June 17 to June 20 owing to his mother Sonia Gandhi’s hospitalisation, officials had said on Thursday.

Taking to Twitter, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Tomorrow lakhs of Congress workers across the country will continue peaceful protests against the anti-youth Agnipath scheme & against Modi Govt’s vendetta politics targeting its leader Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP.” “A Congress delegation will also meet Hon’ble Rashtrapati in the evening,” he said.

Senior Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, P Chidambaram, K C Venugopal and Ramesh, are set to meet meet Kovind and apprise him about the “unprovoked manhandling” of party MPs, which it alleged was in violation of all democratic norms.

Separate delegations of Congress leaders have already met Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and have sought action for violation of the rights of MPs and asked them to treat the same as privilege notices.

The Congress had put up strong protests against the ED’s questioning. The police had imposed prohibitory orders in central Delhi and the Congress leaders were detained for violating the restrictions.

Stepping up its attack on the Centre, the Congress on Sunday held a ‘Satyagraha’ here in support of those protesting the government’s Agnipath scheme. Rahul Gandhi had appealed to party leaders and workers not to celebrate his birthday on Sunday. In a message to them, he had said Saturday night that the youngsters of the country were anguished and protesting on the streets and the Congress workers should stand with them.