Herald case: Congress to stage silent protect across Himachal on Dec 19

The protest would be against the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by PM Modi said the party

The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) today gave a call for staging 'silent protest' in state capital Shimla and all 12 district headquarters on December 19 when party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi appear in a Delhi court in the National Herald case.

HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu said the protest would last two hours and all ministers, MLAs, state party office-bearers and other senior leaders would participate in the 'silent protest'.

The protest would be against the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the agenda of BJP president Amit Shah to make India Congress-free, he said.

Sukkhu criticised the CBI raids at the office of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Keriwal's principal secretary and claimed that it was for the first time in the country when a democratically-elected government was targeted by the investigating agency at the behest of the NDA leadership.

"We are opposed to all kinds of politics of vendetta whether at the Centre or in the states as it was negation of democratic values and traditions," he said, adding that even Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was humiliated by the CBI, which raided his residence on the day of wedding of his daughter.

On injuries sustained by Congress activists during burning of PM's effigy in Shimla, he said "Only one activist, Manoj Adhikari, was admitted to the hospital and his condition has improved."

"AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has sent a special message for him and wished him a speedy recovery," he added.

Sukhu said his party has taken permission from the local administration to hold protest on December 14 and ridiculed the BJP for seeking probe into the incident.

Replying to a question on panchayat polls, the PCC president said the party will not be directly involved in the elections as it was being held on non-party basis.

However, at Zila Parishad level Congress leaders will try to evolve consensus on candidates.

He hailed the Shimla court verdict discharging Congress Deputy Leaders in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma and AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vohra in defamation case filed by former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2004.