Opposition parties on Wednesday intensified their attack against the central government, with several leaders arriving at Parliament dressed in black to protest against the mistreatment of students and lawmakers by security forces. MPs from the Congress, Samajwadi Party and TMC were seen at the protests.
The “Black Day” demonstration was a united front against the government’s handling of recent student unrest and widespread unrest over the national education system.
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Speaking about the protest, Congress MP K Suresh said that the decision to wear black clothes was a direct response to the “brutal” action taken by the police against the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and other members of Parliament during Tuesday’s demonstrations. He stressed that the protest in Makar Dawar was a sign of opposition against the tyranny of the security forces.
He said, “Today we are all wearing these (black clothes) and we are organizing a demonstration in front of Makar Dawar today regarding what the police brutally did to the People’s Party yesterday and other representatives.”
RJD MP Sanjay Yadav joined the attack and criticized the government over the recurring issue of paper leakage and 50-year-old high unemployment rates. He accused the administration of using repressive methods against the young people who took to the streets demanding transparency. Yadav also claimed that while the government boasts of providing ration, its “bad policies” have left millions of students jobless and their future uncertain.
Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, “…There have been more than 150 leakages across the country under this government. No testing has been done in a transparent manner. Unemployment is the highest in 50 years. Why is the government valuing itself instead of talking about unemployment and leaking papers? They are giving 5 kg quota to 85 crore Indians to survive. On the other hand, there are millions of students and youth who are unemployed because of your bad policies and discussions. They are surviving.” The streets today, but you oppress them and do not accept your mistakes.
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress workers and local leaders held protests in several states against the arrest of opposition leader in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party leaders in Delhi, while also condemning the police action against RJD activists during their protest on Monday.
Demonstrations were held in Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Jabalpur and Bhubaneswar, where Congress workers raised slogans against the Center and accused the government of suppressing democratic protests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leaders marched from Rajaji Marg towards Lok Kalyan Marg, demanding accountability over the alleged exam paper leak, action on the police crackdown on protesting students, and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Meanwhile, Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with several other leaders, were arrested by Delhi Police over the party’s protest at Lok Kalyan Marg and were later released from custody.
Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and several opposition leaders left the Chhatrasal stadium, where they were detained by police.
When the police detained the protesters, Priyanka Gandhi criticized the government’s actions.
“They are cowards. They are afraid. We are not afraid of them. They are afraid of us,” she told ANI while in police custody.
Police personnel were seen carrying Rahul Gandhi towards a police bus while security forces dispersed the protesters who had gathered near Lok Kalyan Marg. Several Congress MPs and party workers were also arrested during the protest.
Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi arrived at Mandir Marg police station, where Priyanka Gandhi was detained.
Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera protested at Lok Kalyan Marg. Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan and Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar also joined the protest.
The entire fiasco came after the ‘Sansad Chalo’ protest organized by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Monday, which was met with police action in central Delhi.
