MP: Congress burns UP govt's effigy for stopping Rahul, Priyanka

Congress workers burned the Yogi Adityanath government's effigy here on Thursday, questioning the Uttar Pradesh police's move of stopping party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra when they were walking towards Hathras to meet the rape victim's family.

The party workers held a protest and burned the effigy near Lillie Talkies.

Local MLA Arif Masood, who led the protest, said, "Jungle raj is prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit daughter was raped."

"When our leaders Rahul Gandhiji and Priyanka Gandhiji set out to meet the victim's family they were stopped. The limit was crossed when Rahulji was pushed," he added.

"That is why we burnt the effigy of the Yogi Adityanath government. Time has come for the entire nation to stand together to ensure that the voice of the Dalits is not suppressed," Masood said.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were on Thursday detained by the Uttar Pradesh police after they were stopped on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida while walking towards Hathras to meet the rape victim's family.

Rahul Gandhi also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway near the Jewar toll plaza. Pictures of the incident were shared by the party.

Meanwhile, criticising Yogi Adityanath over the detention of Gandhis, former Madhya Pradesh minister and Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma said it showed the cowardice of the UP government.

"Is getting justice for a daughter a crime in India?" the Congress MLA asked.

Entire Congress party is on the ground on the issue of atrocities against women and if the Modi government wants, it can fill the jails in the country with the Congress workers, he added.

Providing secure environment to daughters should be the topmost priority of any government, Verma said in a statement.