Rahul Gandhi detained during candlelight march in support of soldiers

It is dictatorship and autocracy of the Modi government, says Surjewala

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday detained while participating in a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with ex-servicemen and continue fight for ‘One Rank One Pension’.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) Communications Incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala hit out at the Narendra Modi government. “It is the dictatorship and autocracy of the Modi government. Power has gone to their head,” he told Business Standard.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken and other senior AICC members Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmad Patel and Jyotiraditya Scindia were also participating in the march. Gandhi was first taken to the Parliament Street police station and then to Tughlaq Road police station, from where he might be released.

"Every day, when the Congress and Rahul Gandhi raise their voice to highlight soldiers’ anguish and pain, the answer comes in the form of brutal suppression. The manner and fashion in which Gandhi was detained and released, twice yesterday and today, shows the Modi government’s autocracy and dictatorship,” Surjewala said.

A candlelight march had been organised by DPCC, Mahila Congress Committee and the party’s youth wing National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Describing the sequence of events, Surjewala said there was to be a peaceful candlelight vigil today from Jantar Mantar to Amar Jawan Jyoti, for which we also had police permission. The Congress was to show its resolve to fight for OROP, removal of anomalies in the 7th Pay Commission implementation and disparity in the rank of Army personnel vis-à-vis their civilian counterparts. The route for the march had already been agreed upon, but it was changed without any communication. And when Gandhi had barely crossed the path for 500 metres, he was detained, Surjewala said. “It is a classical ploy to quell the voice of soldiers," Surjewala added.

The party will raise these issues in the winter session of Parliament.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi visited the village of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who had on Tuesday committed suicide over the OROP issue. Gandhi met the family of the victim and expressed his condolences.