Congress MPs To March To Rashtrapati Bhavan Tomorrow Over Price Rise

The Congress is planning to hold a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow in protest against price rise and the Enforcement Directorate action at the offices of Young Indian Limited. The "Chalo Rashtrapati Bhavan" march will begin from parliament. The Delhi Police, however, had refused permission for a protest last week.

Last evening, the party alleged that it was "under siege" when roads leading to its headquarters were barricaded after the Enforcement Directorate temporarily sealed the premises of Young Indian at the Herald House in Delhi.

The government, party leaders said, has surrounded its headquarters and the residences of party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as if they were "terrorists" and termed it an "undeclared emergency".

At a press conference last evening, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said the party had issued a circular that on August 5, the party would organise a nationwide protest on price rise, unemployment and GST hike. The plan was that party leaders will march to Rashtrapati Bhavan and the workers would gherao the Prime Minister's residence.

The Delhi Police, however, refused to allow a protest, Mr Maken said. The police chief sent a letter to the Congress saying the party cannot hold any protest on August 5.

"Everything done by the central government is to intimidate us and change the narrative," Mr Maken had said.

"What we are seeing today is a siege mentality in the heart of the national capital," said senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi. "The sole object of this exercise is humiliation, insult and intimidation at one level and diversion, digression and sensationalism at another. They do not want the issues of price rise, unemployment and GST to be raised in the media," Mr Singhvi had said.