Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra today said that it is not a crime "to be with people in need or in grief", a day after she was stopped by cops in Lucknow when she was on her way to meet retired IPS officer arrested for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Ms Gandhi on Saturday claimed that police personnel stopped her cavalcade while she was heading to the house of 76-year-old SR Darapuri, forcing her to hitch a ride on a party worker's scooter.
"I am proud of you Priyanka for being compassionate & for reaching out to people who need you (sic)," her husband tweeted today and shared a video that shows the Congress leader riding pillion on a two-wheeler. "What you did was correct & there is no crime to be with people in need or in grief," he further wrote.
Videos from the spot on Saturday showed Priyanka Gandhi being stopped by policewomen as she went on foot, surrounded by supporters and securitymen. After a brief scuffle, she managed to walk on.
In another tweeted, Mr Vadra wrote that he was "extremely disturbed" at the way his wife was handled.
"I am extremely disturbed at the way Priyanka was manhandled by the woman cops. While one held her by the throat, the other woman cop pushed her & she fell down. But she was determined & she travelled on a two-wheeler to meet family members of Former IPS officer SR Darapuri (sic)," he wrote.
Denying claims that Ms Gandhi was "pushed" or "held by the neck", a Lucknow cop has said that she was stopped "when she changed her route". "There is no shred of truth in the claims being made on social media that cops grabbed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's neck, pushed her," senior police officer Archana Singh clarified in a letter to her seniors and district administration.
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