BJP's "Private Militia": Congress Slams Cops For Barging Into Headquarters

The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Centre after police and security forces allegedly entered its party headquarters and picked up some party workers. Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram shared a video on Twitter where cops can be seen barging into the party office and carrying away a man, presumably a party worker, as a group of them raise slogans, question the police, and record the incident on their phones. Mr Chidambaram said the Delhi police were behaving like the "private militia" of the BJP.

"@DelhiPolice behaving like the private militia of the @BJP4India by entering the HQ of the @INCIndia," he tweeted along with the video clip.

The party has filed am official complaint against "brazen and illegal actions of officials of the Delhi police in entering and attacking workers of the Congress".

Congress has also tweeted the same video from its official Twitter account defiantly challenging the Centre and without naming him, calling the PM a dictator.

"Hey dictator...If you have to do hooliganism, then get down from the chair of democracy and come in front of the people.

The Congress office to which you have sent your police goons, that office defeated the world's biggest empire... what is the stature of your arrogance?

We will break your ego," the party tweeted in Hindi.

In the video, another man can be seen animatedly questioning a police officer on why they entered the party office. While he is still recording on his phone, he is suddenly forcefully whisked away by cops.

The police have, however, denied that they entered the Congress headquarters or used any force. 

"Many people threw barricades at police near the AICC office, so there might've been a scrimmage. But police didn't go inside the AICC office and use lathi charge. Police are not using any force. We will appeal to them to coordinate with us," Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), told ANI.

News agency ANI has reported that a meeting of Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Randeep Surjewala and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is underway at Congress Headquarters over the issue of Police's entry into the HQ.

The party has also accused the BJP government of blocking political activities by preventing party workers from entering its headquarters and said the ruling dispensation will have to face consequences.

On the third consecutive day of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the ED in the National Herald money-laundering matter, the party's Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel said this was the first time in the country's history that a national party's offices were put out of bounds of its own workers.

"The atmosphere in the country is in front of everyone to see. I could not bring my own staff inside the AICC office. No one else is allowed. Political activists cannot enter their party offices. This is happening for the first time in the country," Mr Baghel said.

"They are trying to stop political activities of leaders. You can only suppress someone till a limit, and now, all limits have been crossed," he said.