Even the Congress party condemned the Adityanath-led UP government for detaining its leader when she was going to meet the kin of those killed in caste violence in Sonebhadra district. Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said in a statement that Priyanka Gandhi had raised her voice against the alarming rise in crime in Uttar Pradesh since BJP leader Yogi Adityanath took charge.
"This arrogant and assumptive attitude of the UP government is out of their fear of being exposed for their failure to stop the criminal activities in the state. Instead of reaching out to families of the victims, the government is trying to prevent opposition leaders only to hide the truth from the public," said Venugopal.
Earlier in the day Priyanka Gandhi was stopped from going to Sonbhadra where 10 people were gunned down this week and taken to a guesthouse after she squatted on the road with her supporters, insisting that she be allowed to proceed. The Sonbhadra shootout acquired a sharp political edge with Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, alleging she had been 'illegally' arrested and the UP government was attempting to crush democracy while local police officials said she was detained in Narainpur in the state's Mirzapur district.
As the issue snowballed, UP Chief Minister promised justice and said the sub-divisional magistrate and four other officials were suspended. Besides, 29 people, including the village headman Yagya Dutt and his brother, were arrested. A committee under the additional chief secretary (Revenue) has also been constituted and will give its report within 10 days, Adityanath said in a statement in the assembly.
Ten people were killed and 18 injured in the clash between supporters of the village head and Gond tribals over a piece of land in Sonbhadra's Ghorawal area on Wednesday. Dutt's supporters allegedly opened fire on the tribals. Priyanka Gandhi landed in Varanasi and met the injured at the BHU Trauma Centre before making her way to Sonbhadra, about 80 km away. The Congress general secretary UP (East) was stopped on the Varanasi-Mirzapur border.
She was taken to the Chunar guesthouse in nearby after she sat on 'dharna'. Priyanka Gandhi and other members of the Congress were 'stopped and detained' at Narainpur while they were on their way to Sonbhadra, Deputy Inspector General Piyush Kumar Srivastava told news agency PTI. The district magistrate and the superintendent of police are in discussions with her at the Chunar guesthouse to persuade her not to move to Sonbhadra, the DIG said.
An agitated Priyanka Gandhi said she only wanted to meet the affected families and demanded to be shown the orders under which she was stopped. "A boy of my son's age was shot at and is lying in hospital. Tell me on what legal basis have I been stopped here," she said. Congress leader Ajai Rai from the area said she was taken into police custody along with other Congress leaders and workers.
Congress general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh West Jyotiraditya Scindia also hit out at the UP government for stopping Priyanka Gandhi from proceeding to Sonbhadra, saying the action was "open disrespect" of democracy. "Meeting families of victims and expressing condolences is the responsibility of public representatives. The government has attempted to crush democracy which is highly condemnable," he said in a tweet in Hindi.