UP govt targets Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over video highlighting police 'cruelty'

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday attacked Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for posting a portion of a video to highlight "cruelty" of the police.

"The tweet was deleted by Priyanka after the entire video came, in which the person she termed 'semi-conscious' was seen running. We know lies have no base," Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's adviser Shalabh Mani Tripathi told PTI.

"Even after apologising in the SC, they are not mending their ways," Tripathi said, in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi.

The Supreme Court had on November 14 rebuked Rahul Gandhi for wrongly attributing to the apex court his "chowkidar chor hai" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale case, but closed the contempt proceedings against him following an unconditional apology by the Congress leader.

Tripathi also shared the full clip on Twitter in an attempt to corner Priyanka Gandhi.

On Saturday, farmers demanding better compensation for their land acquired for an upcoming township clashed with police in Unnao when government officials visited the project site to clear encroachment.

Several farmers were injured as the cops baton-charged them and used tear gas and water cannons. Many police personnel were also injured as the protesters targeted them with stones.

Priyanka Gandhi on November 17 shared a 22-second-long video of the clash on Twitter.

"UP chief minister is making big speeches in Gorakhpur, but see the condition of his police. A farmer in Unnao is lying semi-conscious after being beaten by laathi (stick). He is still being beaten up. There should be some shame. A person who grows grains for you is subjected to such cruelty," she tweeted.

In the video shared by the Unnao Police on Tuesday, the man, who previously appeared unconscious, was seen running.

"We have shared the video of man who fell on the ground. Earlier video alleged police action responsible but you can see he is running," Unnao Superintendent of Police M P Verma said.

The earlier video was circulated widely on social media, with people criticising the state police, terming the incident "barbaric".