Kharge, Rahul condole deaths of Congress workers in UP, Assam protests

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress has condemned the "shocking display of state brutality" in which Uttar Pradesh Police allegedly killed a Congress worker during a protest march in Lucknow on Wednesday, withe party claiming that this exposed the Yogi Adityanath government's despotic approach to suppressing dissent.

The deceased, Prabhat Pandey, a 28-year-old Youth Congress worker from Gorakhpur, was part of a planned gherao of the Uttar Pradesh assembly. His tragic death has sparked outrage across the nation, with the Congress accusing the BJP-led state government of "police brutality."

In a similar incident in Assam, advocate and Congress worker Mridul Islam reportedly suffocated to death when the police launched teargas shells upon a Congress protest rally in state capital Guwahati.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged that it was police brutality that killed the Congress worker, whereas the police claimed that the activist was 'brought dead' to the hospital.

Speaking from a police bus, Rai called it a "murder by the state" and vowed to oust the Yogi government in the 2027 elections. “This is not just a death; it is the result of a regime drunk on power and determined to crush voices of dissent,” Rai said.

"We will not tolerate this incident at all. The Yogi government should give financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased and a government job to one member of the family as compensation," he later wrote on X.

Rai and state in-charge Avinash Pande, along with scores of party workers, were detained by police in a pre-emptive crackdown as they tried to leave the party office for the protest.

Barricades and road diversions brought central Lucknow to a standstill, seeming to indicate the government's panic in the face of mounting public anger over issues like unemployment, inflation, lawlessness, and farmer distress.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed anguish over both the deaths on social media, calling out the BJP's "brutal police force" for stifling peaceful protests.

"We are deeply anguished by the loss of our Congress workers, Prabhat Pandey in Lucknow and Adv. Mridul Islam in Guwahati. This despotic regime will go to any lengths to silence democracy," Kharge wrote.

The protest was met with a heavy police presence. Party workers attempting to break through barricades were forcibly restrained. Congress leader Sadaf Jafar was placed under house arrest, with police stationed outside her residence. Sharing a video on social media, she described the actions as an "unprecedented attack on democracy."

The police invoked section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to justify their clampdown, yet their motives were clear — stifle any voice that questioned the Yogi administration’s failures.

Inside the assembly, Congress legislative party leader Aradhana Misra 'Mona' lambasted the government for "killing democracy and silencing dissent". She decried the use of raids, barricades, and police repression as tools to suppress fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

“The BJP has turned Uttar Pradesh into a police state,” Misra said. “Peaceful protests are being met with barbed wire and detention. This is a direct violation of the values enshrined by Babasaheb Ambedkar.”

Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey also slammed the government, emphasising that the right to protest is intrinsic to democracy. “The BJP’s actions are not only undemocratic but an insult to the people of this state,” he added.

The BJP government, meanwhile, sought to deflect blame. Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak dismissed the Congress protest as a "flop show" designed for media headlines. "The Congress has no connection with the people. Uttar Pradesh is witnessing unprecedented development under our leadership," he claimed, conveniently ignoring the state’s worsening law and order situation.