JOIN USProtests break out in Delhi over Hathras gang-rape
Protests broke out in the national capital on Friday evening as activists of AAP, Left parties and other outfits gathered at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for the Hathras gang-rape victim.
Waving placards and raising slogans against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh, protestors at Jantar Mantar rekindled the memories of agitation against the Delhi gang-rape case in 2012 that had put the then UPA-II government in the dock.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated in a prayer meet for the Hathras gang-rape victim at the Valmiki Temple at Panchkuia Road, where Mahatma Gandhi had stayed for 214 days.
“We will ensure that justice for our sister. We will not sit quiet till justice is done,” Priyanka said at the prayer meet.
“We will put pressure on the government. The family was kept away from the last rites. It is not our tradition to perform last rites after sundown,” she said.
Left leaders like Brinda Karat, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Jignesh Mewani, Bhim Army leader Chandrashekar Azad and actor Swara Bhasker joined the protests.
Bhim Army chief Azad demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the issue. “The PM washes the feet of Dalits before elections but remains quiet when a Dalit daughter of Uttar Pradesh is brutally raped,” Azad said.
The AAP, JNU Students Union, Youth Congress, Bhim Army and some other outfits had given a call for protests at India Gate, but the venue was shifted to Jantar Mantar after police imposed prohibitory orders at India Gate.
As crowds swelled at Jantar Mantar, Delhi Metro shut down the exit gates at Patel Chowk, Janpath and Rajiv Chowk stations.