Amethi(UP): Congress workers Friday staged a protest at the district headquarters here demanding Union Minister and local MP Smriti Irani’s resignation for her alleged “misbehaviour” with Sonia Gandhi in Parliament a day ago.
Congress workers gathered in Amethi in the morning and after a meeting at the party office here they blocked the Gauriganj-Jagdishpur Road, disrupting traffic movement, district officials said.
Officials of the district administration tried to pacify the protesters but to no avail. They were later taken to the police lines, they said.
Spokesperson of the Congress’ Amethi unit said, “The partymen were holding a peaceful protest but the police, showing a dictatorial attitude, detained hundreds of party workers, including former MLC Deepak Singh and district chief Pradeep Singhal.”
“Congress workers blocked the traffic on the Gauriganj -Jagdishpur road and they were taken into custody,” Amethi Superintendent of Police Ilamaran told PTI.
The Congress Thursday accused BJP MPs of subjecting Sonia Gandhi to “brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation” in Lok Sabha.
The face-off between their president and Irani in the Lok Sabha chamber added to the already raging row over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referring to President Droupadi Murmu as ‘rashtrapatni’.
The remark on India’s first tribal president drew a fresh battleline between the Congress and the BJP, which demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi.
As the Lok Sabha adjourned soon after noon, Gandhi walked across to the treasury benches and sought to know from BJP member Rama Devi why she was dragged into the issue.
Irani intervened and was seen gesturing towards Gandhi and apparently protesting Chowdhury’s remark. Gandhi at first tried to ignore Irani’s protestations but was soon seen gesturing towards the minister and speaking angrily.
PTI