"British Couldn't Oppress Us...": Congress Protests On Rahul Gandhi Summons

Announcing that Congress would continue its protest march in support of Rahul Gandhi, who is to appear today before the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala took a swipe at the BJP with a taunt on the role of their ideological predecessors in the freedom struggle. "The Satyagrah march will be held in a peaceful and Gandhian way under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Neither the British could stop it during the freedom struggle, nor can the current ruling dispensation, who served as informants for the British then," he said today.

Mr Surjewala was addressing the media today after Congress workers were detained ahead of their march this morning to protest the action against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The party has called the allegations in the case "fake and baseless", accusing the PM Modi-led government of harassment for political vendetta.

He repeatedly called the Enforcement Directorate an "election management department", and accused the Centre of using the probe agency for political score-settling. "The cowardly Modi government has challenged the truth using its pet agency. The truth needs no cover. It can't be suppressed on bent at will," he said, claiming that thousands of Congress workers have been picked up by the Delhi police and "thousands" of barricades have been erected to stop the party's march. 

Mr Surjewala also posted a detailed statement in Hindi, which he repeated at the press conference, on his Twitter account. 

He said the Centre has imposed an "undeclared emergency" but it can't stop the Congress. "Modi government has imposed an undeclared emergency in the entire central Delhi area...Congress will continue raising the issues of people. National Herald is a heritage of the country. We are determined to protect the national heritage. We will continue raising our voices against inflation and unemployment. We will expose the government," Mr Surjewala said.

Visuals from New Delhi showed Congress workers being detained and put into buses as they raised slogans in support of their leaders. More Congress workers are expected to hit the streets later in the day as the party has planned this protest as a show of strength. 

Delhi Police had last night refused permission for the protest march, citing the "communal and law and order situation" and VVIP movements. The Congress leaders had urged them to reconsider the decision but to no avail.

Police have been deployed outside Rahul Gandhi's residence and additional security forces have also been deployed outside the Enforcement Directorate office in the national capital.