Sankalp Satyagraha: Gujarat Congress functionaries detained while protesting Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Several Congress functionaries were detained in Gujarat on Sunday during the party's 'Sankalp Satyagrah' agitation against the disqualification of their leader Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP following his conviction in a defamation case by a Surat court.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname and thieves remark, and his disqualification notice was issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat a day later.

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Police detained state Congress chief Jagdish Thakor, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Amit Chavda and senior leader Bharatsinh Solanki along with party workers when they arrived at Lal Darwaza here to protest.

The protesters were taken to the police stadium where they continued to shout slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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"We have the power of Truth and resolution of Satyagraha. To expose the loot of BJP, with a firm determination to protect democracy, each and every worker of Gujarat Pradesh Congress is with Rahul Gandhi," Thakor tweeted.

Such protests were also organised in all district headquarters in the state, including Vadodara. "Even before we could start the programme, the police detained us. We will continue our protest against the dictatorship of the BJP government, which puts even the erstwhile British rule to shame," said Vadodara Congress party leader Rutvij Joshi.