Cops knock at Rahul's door over remarks on 'sexual harassment' victims during Bharat Jodo Yatra

The Delhi Police had issued a notice to Gandhi over his remark that "women are still being sexually assaulted" during the Bharat Jodo Yatra

Signalling the intensification of a bitter political battle between the ruling BJP and the Opposition, Delhi Police under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday went to top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's residence for the third time in four days seeking details of women who claimed to him that they were sexually assaulted.

Congress hit back at the government calling the exercise "political vengeance" and "shameful act" that proves Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "nervous" about Rahul raising "uncomfortable" and "unanswerable" questions, including the Adani affair. It said notices were issued for his speech in Srinagar at the Bharat Jodo Yatra finale 45 days ago, “exposing” the motive and seriousness behind the move.

Special Commissioner (Law and Order) Sagarpreet Hooda led the team to Rahul's residence on Tughlaq Lane in the morning where he met Rahul and other senior leaders. Rahul told police that it would take 7-8 days to collate the details as his yatra was 145 days long.

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After the meeting, Hooda told reporters that the remarks had to come to police's notice and as Rahul stayed in the capital and the yatra passed through the capital, they wanted to collect details about victims in the city.

"Several police personnel were deployed for the yatra. I personally was present. After his remarks about some sobbing women telling him about sexual assaults, domestic violence etc, we did our local investigation and could not find anything like that. So we wanted to ask the MP himself," he said.

Asked why it took so many days to act as Rahul made the remarks on January 30, he said Rahul had gone abroad and they approached him after he returned. Rahul left for London on February 28 and returned on March 15.

However, the Congress was not impressed by the action with party president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeting, “the government has gone berserk in the effort to save Modi-ji's 'best friend'! After 45 days, sending Delhi Police to Rahul Gandhi's house for questioning regarding 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is yet another cowardly act of the dictatorial government! Run the Parliament, Set up the JPC, Bring out the truth!”

Senior lawyer and MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, claiming that the police had earlier on March 16 accepted Rahul's contention that it would take some time to collate details while Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot squarely put the onus on Home Minister Amit Shah saying police would not have taken this recourse without his prodding.

“We will respond to the notice in detail...but in the past 75 years, a leader from any other party has been issued a notice after a political yatra. This smacks of the worst kind of pettiness," Singhvi, with Gehlot and Congress General Secretary (Jairam Ramesh) on his side, told a press conference.

"Without Shah's order, it is not possible that police could show such audacity. Rahul Gandhi said that he has received the notice and he will reply to it but still, the police went to his house. Don't forget what happened to the parties that sent police Indira Gandhi after the Emergency," Gehlot said.

He said the Modi government was setting a bad example by registering cases on statements of opposition leaders made during political campaigns. "If a Union Minister makes similar comments in Rajasthan, should we take the same action as done by the Delhi Police," he asked.