Maha Cong protests Priyanka Gandhi's 'illegal arrest' in UP

The Maharashtra Congress Friday staged a protest here against what it claimed was the "illegal arrest" of party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra by Uttar Pradesh police when she tried to meet those injured in the Sonbhadra clash that claimed 10 lives.

The protest was led by Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, who accused the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh of "arresting" Gandhi Vadra as it was "afraid of her".

He also charged the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh with functioning in an authoritarian manner.

"The Uttar Pradesh government arrested Priyanka Gandhi as the BJP government is afraid of her...she was arrested illegally. Is it a crime to meet victims of the violence?" a statement quoted Thorat as saying.

He also sought to know why Uttar Pradesh police was "arresting" leaders instead of jailing perpetrators of the incident and other criminals.

"The rights of commoners are being stifled in Uttar Pradesh and government there is working in an authoritarian manner," Thorat said.

The demonstrators also burnt an effigy of Adityanath during the protest, in which party leaders Nana Patole, Yashomati Thakur and others participated.

Gandhi Vadra was Friday stopped from proceeding to Sonbhadra district. She was detained in Narainpur in the northern state's Mirzapur district.

Ten people were killed and 18 injured in a clash between supporters of the village head and Gond tribals over a piece of land in Sonbhadra's Ghorawal area on Wednesday.