Priyanka Gandhi hits out at UP CM, says there is no space for ‘badla’

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the UP police for the brutal crackdown against people protesting the citizenship law

user

NH Web Desk

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the UP police for the brutal crackdown against people protesting the citizenship law.

She accused the police of "working to ensure Yogi's badla", referring to a shocking statement by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who said his government would take revenge" on anti-CAA protestors.

Ms Gandhi Vadra's comments come two days after she accused Lucknow cops of manhandling her.

She said they "grabbed me by the neck" - while en route to visit a retired IPS officer arrested for opposing the Citizenship Act.

Ms Gandhi Vadra dismissed concerns about her own safety and said India was "no place for enmity, violence and revenge".

"My safety isn't a big issue. We are talking about the safety of common man, the safety of citizens. The cases we know of suggesting more than 5,500 have been arrested.

Many have been jailed in a discreet manner, they are being thrashed. Police and administration are complicit in wrongdoing," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

"Yogi-ji wears 'bhagwa' (saffron). It is not his...saffron belongs to this country's religious and spiritual spirit. It is a symbol of the Hindu religion."

"He should follow that religion. There is no place for enmity, revenge and violence in that religion," she added.

There have been massive protests across Uttar Pradesh against the Citizenship Act, the first-ever law to make religion criteria for citizenship. More than 20 people have died, many from bullet injuries.

"I went to Bijnor... two kids died there. "Cops picked one of the boys who had gone to buy milk, after 30 minutes, they got to know a boy's body had been found, he had been shot," said Priyanka.

"The other (referring to 20-year-old Suleman who was an IAS aspirant and had nothing to do with the protests, according to his family) had gone to offer namaz," she continued.

She also alleged the police was arresting people - more than 1,100 have been arrested from across the state, according to official data - who had nothing to do with agitations.

The Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the "unlawful conduct" of UP police officers.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Instagram 

Join our official telegram channel (@nationalherald) and stay updated with the latest headlines