Lucknow/New Delhi: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said today she had been "illegally held" by the Uttar Pradesh government for over 24 hours and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not acting against a Union Minister whose son is accused of running over farmers at a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday.
"Why is the opposition arrested without any order and a man who has committed such a horrendous crime... he is not arrested? PM Modi, arrest him, not people like us," Priyanka Gandhi told NDTV from a government guest house in Sitapur, where she has been detained since early Monday morning.
On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh officers said a case had been registered against Priyanka Gandhi and others "related to preventive detention for breach of peace". But sources close to the Congress leader said she had not been served any order and not shown an FIR either. She was also reportedly not allowed to meet her counsel who had waited "at the gate" of the detention centre since morning.
According to a list on social media, 11 people have been named in the FIR. The Congress says eight of them were not even present at the time and one man had just brought Priyanka Gandhi's clothes from Lucknow.
Earlier today, Priyanka Gandhi said she was ready to stay "15 days, 20 days, six months or even six years..." in detention.
The Congress leader questioned PM Modi's visit to Lucknow for an event linked to the Independence Day anniversary - "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav".
"Modi-ji is celebrating Azadi (freedom). Who gave us freedom? The farmers gave us freedom. What moral authority do you have to celebrate in Lucknow and not sack your minister and arrest his son? This government does not have the moral authority to continue if this minister continues," Priyanka Gandhi lashed out.
"Modi-ji, will you go to Lakhimpur Kheri?"
On Sunday, farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri - a four-hour drive from Lucknow - were protesting the visit of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra for an event when an SUV in his convoy rammed a group of protesters. Eight people, including four farmers, were killed.
Farmers protested with the bodies in glass cases much of yesterday, alleging that the SUV was driven by Union Minister Mishra's son Ashish Mishra. The UP police have filed an FIR against him listing murder charges but he has yet to be arrested. Both the Minister and his son have denied they were present at the spot during the incident.
A video, apparently of the incident, has gone viral though its authenticity is not confirmed. Priyanka Gandhi tweeted the video with a question for PM Modi: "@narendramodi Sir, your government has kept me in custody for the last 28 hours without any order and FIR. This person who crushed the annadata (farmers) has not been arrested yet. Why?"
Speaking to NDTV, Priyanka Gandhi said the first thing she would do when released from detention was to meet with the families of the dead farmers. She was heading to Lakhimpur Kheri for the purpose on Sunday night when she was stopped and arrested in the early hours of Monday.
Lashing out at the BJP for calling her a political opportunist, Priyanka Gandhi retorted: "Each person of this country... each child knows who the biggest political opportunist is. They try to undermine us and our politics, saying it is nothing serious. But I am very serious and I work seriously. I don't sit in a jhoola (swing) with the Chinese President. I don't visit Japan... The PM travels the world and he is the biggest tourist."
She added: "I belong to a political party that opposes the government. It is my job to raise issues, to stand for people, and to be the voice of the people. Farmers have been protesting for months on end, it is the farmer's son who is protecting our borders. If every opposition party had not tried to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, would the state government have acted at all?"
Priyanka Gandhi also reacted to the Supreme Court yesterday questioning the farmers' protest continuing even after the farm laws that they are opposing have been challenged in court. "This country is a democracy and the right to protest is a fundamental right of every citizen in the country. This right is being destroyed in our country under the BJP government," she said.