Bhim Army chief should be shifted to AIIMS, says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday demanded that Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad should be shifted to AIIMS.

Azad is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. He was arrested in December after leading a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the national capital.

Attacking the BJP, Priyanka said that the government's policy of "oppressing" dissent has reached a point of cowardice.

"The government's policy of oppressing all expressions of dissent and protest has reached the point of cowardice. The lack of basic humanity in their actions is shameful. There are absolutely no grounds to keep Chandrashekhar in jail, let alone to deny him medical treatment if he is unwell. He should be sent to AIIMS to be treated immediately," she tweeted.

A case has been registered against Azad under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the IPC.

Protests have erupted across the country against the CAA, which grants Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.