Sonia, 17 top Cong leaders arrested

Protest Govt move to subvert Constitution, saffronise polity

   NEW DELHI, Jan. 30 (PTI):- Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with 17 other senior party leaders, was arrested on Sunday for defying prohibitory orders as she led a march to the Prime Minister’s residence protesting Gujarat Government’s lifting of ban on its employees to take part in RSS activities.Gandhi, who was released soon after her arrest during the march marking the martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi, later launched a scathing attack on the Vajpayee Government for its proposed review of the Constitution and declared Congress’ resolve to “oppose tooth and nail” BJP’s policies against an integrated society. 

In her second street protest since plunging into politics more than two years ago, Gandhi, flanked by senior Congres leaders Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh, Madhavrao Scindia and A K Anthony, led the procession, that began from Congress headquarters at Akbar Road, as hundreds of party activists shouted “Vande Mataram” and  “Mahatma Gandhi amar rahe.” The marchers were stopped by police at the Tughlak Road crossing, close to the Prime Minister’s residence, but surged ahead breaking through the barricade and defying repeated warnings to halt, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police R K Niyogi said. 

Sonia Gandhi and 17 other Congress leaders were arrested under Delhi Police Act near Tees January Marg, he said adding the party activists were freed after half-an-hour.The leaders including N D Tiwari, Manmohan Singh, Motilal Vora, A K Antony, S K Shinde, Mohsina Kidwai, Natwar Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jitendra Prasada, Madhavrao Scindia, Sunil Shastri, Ms. Ambika Soni, Ajit Jogi, Rajesh Pilot and several others were taken to Tughlaq Road police station. The leaders planned to go to the Prime Minister's residence at Race Course Road to present to him a memorandum but were stopped by police. They were taken to the Tughlaq Road police station in waiting vehicles. At the police station, the CWC members sat on a  dharna.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was conspicuous by her absence but DPCC chief was present.The leaders marched from the Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road upto Gandhi Smriti, about two km away, where Ms Gandhi paid floral tributes at a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi kept outside the gates of the Gandhi Smriti. She was received there by senior Congress Leader Arjun Singh who also later joined them. There was chaos and confusion all along the route and at the place of arrest with hundreds of party workers shouting slogans and trying to get close to the party leaders. The heavy posse of police and security personnel tried to form a cordon around the leaders. Media personnel were handled roughly by the police. As the leaders reached a few metres away from the Gandhi Smriti on way to the Prime Minister's residence, they were stopped by a heavy posse of police personnel. The Congress president, accompanied by her party colleagues, however, broke the security cordon and were whisked away in waiting vehicles by the police and taken to the Tughlaq Road police station, about a km away. 

Hundreds of Congress workers including members of Parliament, AICC office bearers, former MPs, state/district level officers joined the March. The leaders, before starting the march, took a pledge to  "protect the country against religious fanaticism, communalism and fight for the rights of Dalits and the poor. They said they would dedicate themselves to upholding truth, commmunal harmony and non-violence as preached by Mahatma Gandhi. 

Before being whisked away to the police station, party leader Ambika Soni criticised the Gujarat Government for "  hijacking democracy. "The party leaders also criticised the privatisation of government institutions and attempts to "undermine the Constitution."They said they would strive to improve relations with neighbouring countries and restore India's self- respect. They would also fight for giving equal rights to Dalits. 

An Ahmedabad report adds: Sonia Gandhi attacked the Vajpayee Government’s proposal to review the Constitution and declared her party would oppose “tooth and nail” the  “anti-society” policies of the BJP.”Addressing a rally here culminating the party’s countrywide “sankalp yatras” marking the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, she charged BJP with “contemplating an attack on democracy and the Constitution which provides for equal rights to every citizen without discrimination.” 

Asserting the Congress was committed to protect the  Constitution, Sonia Gandhi declared: “I and Congress will oppose tooth and nail “the policies of BJP which” went against a cohesive society “.Congress, she said, would keep up an “unrelenting pressure” on BJP until it takes steps to rectify its “mistakes” and pledged along with senior Congress leaders and thousands of partymen at the rally to “protect and respect “the Constitution. Gandhi criticised the BJP Government in Gujarat for  lifting the ban on State Government employees’ participation in RSS activities and said the decision has “exposed its real face.”

 The decision would create a “wall “between employees of  Gujarat and ran counter to the Constitution, she said.Gandhi said several commissions have raised doubts over the role of RSS and Sangh Parivar in different states and asked, “how can they impose their agenda on the people?” She reiterated her party’s resolve to “end their evil designs all inimical forces. Congress Working Committee members Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Jitendra Prasada, Rajesh Pilot, Ahmed Patel, A K Antony, Madhav Sinh Solanki and Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan -Digvijay Singh, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Gehlot respectively- GPCC President C D Patel and Gujarat CLP leader Amar Singh Choudhary were present at the rally.

 A large number of party leaders from all over the country attended the “sankalp yatra rally’ at Kankaria Football Ground here and were administered a pledge by the Congress President to protect the Constitution, democracy, unity and integrity of the country. Addressing the rally, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan lambasted the Gujarat Government decision of lifting ban on government employees from participating in RSS activities and said any employee in their states joining RSS would face dismissal.

They said the country and Congress would never accept anyone spreading communal hatred among people on the basis of religion.Referring to Narmada Project, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said his state was not opposed to the project but would want the people of Gujarat agree to lowering of height of the dam by 19 feet.